Quick but enjoyable bench day...

Gotta do a quick one from my phone tonight.  Today's bench was damn good.  Gym went to all the benches were taken, so went to the other one, surprise, it was dead.  Anyway, decided to give pin presses a whirl again and it went really well.  Did a static hold to remember how 500 felt locked out.  Was really nice, 10 second hold.  Could have went longer but didn't want to fry myself too much since I was a bit tired having unloaded a truck starting at 4am this morning.  Anyway, numbers...


Pin press bench 135x7, 225x5, 315x1, 405x1

All of those went nice and easy.


Static bench hold 500 pounds for 10 seconds


Chinups  1x7, 1x6


Nice and easy day.


Happy New Year peeps!

hard ass back day...

This one could be quick since I've gotta be at work at 4 tomorrow morning.  Anyway, worked today from 6-2 today, so thought I'd be more tired when I got to the gym, not that I wasn't but damn, we killed it today.   Hit a rep PR on the one arm rows which was nice.  One day I'll have a big meaty back.  Anyway, quick numbers...


One armed machine rows, 70x8, 115x8, 160x8, 205x8, 250x15

Lat pull downs(weight is each arm) 205x8, 250 3x8

Attempted to do a chinup but my back was shot.  Attempted on more and got it, decided to switch to straight arm pulldowns


Straight arm pulldowns 37.5x15  47.5x40



Good day, in honor of international chest day tomorrow I'll be training bench.  Stay frosty.

Tow strap PR, chin rep PR, good day...

So, today ended the last week of the tow strap deadlift block of programming, and damn it was enjoyable, I'm looking forward to doing it again.  So anyway, was a good day, did a PR on it, so got something to look forward to.  Feel I've made some really good gains on these.  Also managed to do a rep PR on chinups, which damn near killed me, but I got it.  Anyway, I'll throw some numbers down...



Tow strap deadlifts 135x7, 315x5, 405x1, 495x1, 585x1, 605x1

in between those sets did some grip work with the 200lb hand grippers.


Chinups, the goal was 20 reps in as few sets as possible, managed to do 11 on the first set then 10 on the second.  So yeah, technically 21 but I wanted to push my training partner since he gets to lift more than I do on tow strap deadlifts.  Anyway, doing upper back on Sunday, so two days of gym rest, but no work rest, which sucks.  Anyway... have fun peeps, train hard.

Bench day, broken bands, tore up forearms...

Not gonna sugar coat this... typing this is a bitch right now.  My forearms are killing me from using the grippers I got for Christmas today.  So this will be fun.  Today was a different kind of day, a lot different, a little fun, and some new stuff.  Also, my shoulders and chest are sore as hell from the bamboo benching.  Had a band break so had to add weights to the bar to go along with the 20 pound kettlebells... which, damn... as much as I can bench and that less than 200 pounds on bamboo bench completely destroyed me... anyway... lets drop some numbers...


Bamboo bench 135 + 40 pounds of kettlebells  Sets of 8, 7, 8, 6, 10

Riposte Grenade Grip pressdowns 50x7, 40x10, 40x9, 30x15

Then moved to grip work, this involved the 200lb grippers and a hex dumbbell hold.  Closing then holding it closed for as long as I can or 10 seconds all while holding a 25pound hex dumbbell in the opposite hand. 

After this, just did one static hold from the chin up bars. 

Thus my forearms being trashed.  I'm gonna wrap this up now...

Christmas Eve Squats... lunges, wtf was I thinking?

So Christmas Eve, was a good day at the gym, funny but more on that in a minute.  Decided to add a new accessory, something I haven't attempted to do in like 15 or more years.  So that was interesting, did them with a twist.  Worked from 6am-noon today, was a good day.  So... get to the gym, the squat rack was in use.  Did a few curls just to screw around.  Squat rack was still in use.  We were like "Fuck it, lets go to the other gym, do the squats, come back here for the accessory I wanna do."  So we did.  Fortunately, the two gyms we have memberships two are about a mile apart, so no time to cool down really.  One gym, primary exercise and one accessory, one gym, two accessories.  So lets jump to some numbers, then maybe a bit more chat after...

Squats  135x8, 225 8x2

Depth and explosiveness was on point today.  Going next squat session it's time to use more weight regularly. 

Leg curls  100 3x10

*gym switch*

Landmine Lunges  45 2x7 each leg.

Okay, it's been forever since I've done lunges because they hurt my knees and last time I did them I came right down on my freshly scoped knee and was like "nope, never again"  Then I saw Juji doing/talking about landmine lunges and I was like "shit, lets give that a whirl"  Glad I did, it was great.  Also, pissed I did because damn my legs are so toast right now.

Chinups, the goal was 16 reps in as few sets as possible.  Did a set of 9 and 7.  9 chinups in one set is a new rep PR so I'm more than pleased with that.



No training on Christmas day, back with another bench day Wednesday so we'll see how that goes.  Weight is at 313.4 so staying in the same era.  Still pondering on a 2018 recap post tomorrow, dunno if it will happen but we'll see.

Festivus bench day!

Didn't get much sleep last night, so was afraid today's training would suffer, but fortunately it turned out to be a pretty damn good day.  Final week of close grip bench, which I'm glad of, wanting to do some SlingShot work now.  Looking forward to some Christmas Eve squats tomorrow, going to try a lunge accessory, which I haven't done lunges in forever.  We'll see how that goes.  I'll probably do a year in retrospect update on Christmas, dunno if it'll get published then but we'll see.  Anyway... lets drop some numbers...



Close Grip Benchpress 135x8, 185x6, 225x4, 315x2, 405x1

Skull Crushers 115x15, 135x12.  Partner was having some elbow issues so we just moved on after 2 sets.


Grenade Grip Cable pressdowns 40x10, 40x15, 40x20

Plate loaded machine bench burnout   4 plates each side for 23 reps. 

Still feeling good, I'll do a weight check tomorrow maybe.  Oh yeah, go see Bumblebee! 

Tow Strap Deadlift PR! Holy hell I'm tired.

Okay, so... today was a really good day at the gym.  Although, I was pretty exhausted I managed to get a new PR and do a one handed chinup with each hand this time.  So, my day/days.  Closed last night, had to be back at work at 4am for a truck unload.  So damn, very little sleep.  No nap after the gym, and gotta be back at 4am tomorrow morning. HOWEVER, tonight my plan is to be asleep by 8pm, and by the grace of Ambien, I will be.  Anyway... lets drop some numbers, was a simple day, one primary one accessory...


Tow strap deadlift 135x8, 315x5, 405x1, 495x1, 585x1(pr!)

Chinups  1x7 1x6,

Single Handed Chinups  1 x each hand.


Bench training Sunday!

Quick and easy squat day...

So my training partner had a meeting this afternoon, so we basically just quickly got through the squats and an accessory exercise which was pretty nice actually.  Squats are feeling really good.  225 is having good speed and depth.  I've noticed a lot more upper leg development.  I just hope this is what I need to get past the fear of squatting heavier.  Anyway, since today was a short and sweet session, I'll make this entry the same...


Speed squats  135x8, 225 8x2

Half Up/Full Up Squats   135x10


Pulling on Thursday.  Yay! 

Kinda heavy close grip bench...

It's always a good day at the gym when you start by getting a hug from someone bigger than you.  It's rare for me, but it does happen!  Anyway, aside from the manly embrace, was a good day for bench.  But I gotta tell ya, the stance I took yesterday for those straight arm pull downs and forced my partner to take absolutely tore my abs up.  So, after one set of v-bar pressdowns, I was like "Nope, can't do that right now."  Laying down and sitting up on the bench I was having to hold my stomach hard to keep it from hurting.  But I managed.  So anyway, lets drop some numbers...


Close grip bench press  135x10, 185x10, 225x5, 315x3, 405x1

Skull crushers 115x12, 135x8, 145x12

V-bar press downs 100x12, then noped because of my abs.

Tate/JM combo   35lbs 25/15/10 no rest between sets. 


Good day, squats tomorrow.

Back day, couple of rep PRs

Man, today was a good day.  Had the day off after working two 10 and one 11 hour day.  So it was needed, don't wanna brag but I slept in, all the way to 8:30am.  I know how to relax damnit!  Or something.  Anyway, was another good day and I needed it coming off that shit session Thursday night.  Did a rep PR on 250 pound rows and chinups.  So that was nice.  Also, it's funny the looks you get when you use ammonia in a commercial gym.  But screw it, it's the only way I can finish anymore.  Wait.. what??!?  Anyway... lets drop some numbers...


One Arm Machine Rows 70x10, 115x10, 160x8, 205x8, 250x12

Just went full blown animal on that last set.

Lat Pull Down Machine, weights listed are for each arm.   205x8, 250x7, 250x8, 250x6

Chinups  1x8, 1x6, 1x7

Straight arm pulldowns 72.5x17, 72.5x9


So that's enough for tonight, bench tomorrow!

Pin presses, tonight sucked.

So, tonight was the latest I've trained in like 2 years.  It sucked.  Flat out sucked.  Not gonna entirely blame it on the time, but probably more on the fact I'm thinking I set the pins lower than I should have in the cage for pin presses.  Probably more the low pin setting, but damn.  I'll post numbers, but eh... we all have bad nights. Sad thing is I was in a good mood too.  But oh well, lets see... other than that, not much else going on.  I'll just post numbers.


Pin presses #4 hole 135x8, 185x5, 225x4, 275x2

Tricep pressdowns 90x15, 110x15, 130x15, 150x15, 190x15

Reverse grip tricep pressdowns 50  3x15


ALSO!  Did a burpee tonight!  My first ever!  A new PR!

Tow strap deadlifts, first time ever!

So as the title suggest, I did tow strap deadlifts today for the first time ever.  SO MANY PRs!!!! And yes, of course after each set "PR!"  It was fun doing something I've never done before, been a while since I've done something like this, so it was a learning processes and a damn entertaining one.  Well, was until me and my partner went double dumb.  "Think we should go up by quarters?"  "Nah, lets do plates."  "Think we should add a piece of plywood to increase the deficit?"  "Sure"  That was the point we learned one of us can be dumb at a time.  But it was still a good time, and finally he out lifted me in something.  I told him I wouldn't bring up the eight inch height difference, but I'm bringing up the eight inch height difference.  So anyway, lets drop some numbers and put this baby to bed, and by baby I mean me... I'm fussy and have to get up early for work.


Tow strap deadlift 135x8, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1, 455x1 495x1, 545x0

Sure I didn't get the heaviest one I tried, but that's an opportunity for gains!  Or that's what I'm telling myself.... I'M EIGHT INCHES TALLER I HAVE TO PULL FURTHER!!!!

Short stroke behind the head pulldowns  140 4x15

Face pulls 100x78


That last set was a burnout.  I didn't lose track of what I was doing.

Okay, this is a double bench week so that will probably be tomorrow night.  Stay frosty.

Damn, more squats...

Okay... so with the new program I'm working on/with I was scheduled for squats again today.  Just a tad over 48 hours after doing them.  I was dreading it, all yesterday and this morning. Get up, my legs feel great.  Got to the gym and did my first warmup and was like "shit, my legs don't feel great, but I can do it."  It was a little different than Saturday with weight/set schemes and no gluteham raises because of the possible calf tear, but for my personal lifting it was good.  My partner tried to make it through it but was feeling bad so he had to call it early.  So, as soon as he left, earbuds went in so I would look less approachable.  Lets drop some quick numbers since I have 4am core work tomorrow(truck day at work).

Squats 135x10, 225 8x2, 275 2x1

Half Up/Full Up Squats  135 3x4


Called it here since I couldn't do my glute/ham raises and my legs were pretty fried at this point. 

Interesting day planned for Wednesday, so we'll see how that goes.

Strong bench day...

So lets see... not much soreness in the legs which is good since tomorrow is squat day again.  I'll elaborate on this method I'm toying with at a later point.  Particularly when I have a bit more data on how it's making me feel, results I see, ect... Anyway, felt good today, was pretty strong.  Did the crazy Tate/JM Press rep thingy for an accessory again.  Also did some curls.  21s/Pass off, only rest was handing the bar to my training partner for him to do his set then pass it right back.  That was fun, but there was some forearm cramping on set three.  Kinda expected it.  Anyway, lets do some numbers...


Close grip benchpress 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x4, 315x2, 365x1

Spoto Press 225  3x6

Tate/JM variation 35 pound, 25/15/10 rep scheme no pause between sets.

21/Passoff  40lbs 4x...well... 21. 


Good day, felt strong, only a wee bit of shoulder pain but nothing too bad.  Squats tomorrow!

Squattastic Saturday

Damn, my legs are thrashed.  Okay, lets break down the day.  Work from 6a-8a for training for a new system.  Squats at 10a.  Back to work at 2p-9p to close.  So pretty hectic day, but damn what a squat day.  So, one thing I'm going to list, I'm not sure if it has a proper name, so for purposes of this I'm just going to call them half up full up.  Basically, unrack, squat down to full depth, come back up half way, squat back down to full depth, then complete the squat for one rep.  So, that was pretty intense.  Today was a speed day, and in describing that at work, I know it's pretty common for powerlifters to understand when you say speed, you mean dynamic effort, but not everyone does, so there's a bit of clarification.  Basically exert as much force as you can at 50-60% of your one rep max.  So for example, squat 225 as though it's 455.  Seems simple enough I suppose.  Anyway, lets drop some numbers.

Speed squats 225 4x2, 245 3x2, 255 1x2, 265 1x1, 270 1x1, 275 1x1, 280 1x1

Half Up Full Up Squats  135  3x4

Glue ham raises 1x10, 1x7

Was planning on 2x10 for GH however that weird pop/pull thing I had happen in my calf on Thursday kinda sprung back up on me.  It's not bugging me enough to want to get it checked out, could be a very minor calf tear, but it's up high enough that it doesn't bother me through most things.  So that's nice.  Anyway, enough for today.  Bench training tomorrow.

Blah, deadlift fail!

So, had a fail at the gym today.  However, not letting it get me down.  There's a video on my Instagram of it.  So feel free to check it out.  Other than that it was a decent day.  Today was a heavy day, so went heavy with bands.  Only one accessory and I'll bitch about that one.  On my final set of leg curls I was at 180 pounds and on my 6th rep something pop in my upper calf.  Freaked me out.  There was no pain at all unless I pivot on my left leg and even then it's very minimal.  Tried stretching it out every way possible and no real pain, oddly feels like nothingness.  Like I can feel something there but no pain.  Yeah, it sounds weird but that's the best way I can explain it.  At any rate, was going along good with those, was the last set anyway, would have liked to got the 10 reps, but I'd rather not be injured, so seemed like a good stopping point. And that's a marvelous segue for getting to numbers and stopping...


Banded deadlifts mini bands, 135x8, 225x4, 315x1, 405x1, 495x0, second attempt... 495x0.  Yay for failure!

Leg Curls 120x10, 140x10, 160x10, 180x6

Decent enough day over all, squats Saturday!

New Reverse Grip Bench PR!

So, since last week I've kinda been eyeballing a new PR for reverse grip bench this week.  Aside from the congestion I've been feeling good.  Up until this morning I was confident, this morning I woke up, shoulders were achy, head was stuffier than it has been the past few days, fortunately I was off work today so I just went back to sleep.  Woke up, shoulders were still achy but the head felt better.  So boom, new PR today!  Worked so well even my partner kicked out a new PR on it, 295 for him.  Lot of explosive speed on it too.  Was good to see.  Unfortunately due to him still having a busted sforax(don't ask, or do, I'm not the boss of you) I only got one set of Bradford presses in since he couldn't hold the bar in front of his head.  Oh yeah!!  Tried Inhale Smelling Salts for the first time today after seeing Jujimufu using it.  Damn, that stuff is strong.  Like getting kicked right in the brain and heart at the same time.  Love the size of the bottle too.  Hopefully it's as long lasting as is touted.  Time will tell, now lets drop some numbers.


Reverse Grip Benchpress 135x8, 185x6, 225x5, 275x1, 315x1, 405x1

Bradford Press 95 1x10, stepped due to my partner not being able to.

V-Bar Pressdowns  100x10, 120x12, 140x14, 160x16

Thought my triceps were thrashed after this, I was wrong.

Final lift was a move I saw Dave Tate do, it's a Tate/JM Press using the rep scheme of 25/15/10  No break in between, Tate/JM/Tate.  One set, 35 pound dumbbells.


Good day.  Bodyweight is currently at 313.4.  So holding nice, seem to be eating more and more frequently, which is nice. 

Two for One! Mostly because I was busy last night...

So, yeah, was pretty busy last night so didn't get a chance to log my squat day. So today we're doing the logs for Saturday's squat day and Sunday's back day!  Fun times, I might be wordy.  Saturday's squat day was decent even though I had two back to back 4am days at work, one of those included a big assed truck and the other included tons of price changes.  So, lots of lifting followed by lots of bending.  Thought squats would be terrible, while I didn't go heavy, power and depth were both good.  Was pleased overall and tonight and today, man my legs were a bit toasty.

Today begins the new week, this is a double back week with today being upper back.  The head cold I've had for a few days was a bit rough today so wasn't expecting much.  Fortunately, I was wrong.  Felt really good while lifting even though breathing during sets was a bitch but I still went pretty strong.  Used the machine row and lat pull down which is good.  So lets get started with numbers from yesterday...


Squats 135x10, 225 8x2  speed and depth were on point.
Glue ham raises  4x8  Each rep had a nice pause/contraction at the top.


Today...

One arm machine rows 70x8, 115x8, 160x8, 205x8, 250x8

Lat pull downs 205 2x12, 250x8, 250x12.  Struggled with that last one due to breathing and grip, but managed and felt good.

Chin ups 4x3, attempted a 1 handed chinup with my left hand since the wrist is still sliced from the biopsy, that didn't happen.

Rock climbing grip pull-up  3x1, 1x2

Straight arm pulldowns 52.5 2x20

Called a day there, next training day will be Wednesday, should be good.  I'll check bodyweight sometime around then.

Benched, poked, sliced, cauterized.

So, fun today, had to train this morning since I had a doctor's appointment to get that rash on my arm looked at.  That was a load of fun, poked full of lidocaine, sliced like a deli ham, then they cauterized it.  So naturally the smell of burning flesh meant I had to have Taco Bell on the way home.  Don't judge, I was hungry.  Results in a week or so.  Anyway... I don't like training in the morning because I don't like training within an hour(or in this case 30 minutes) after I wake up.  I'm just stiff.  But it was still pretty good.  So here's some numbers...


Shoulder Saver bench press 135x10, 225x8  from here out I alternated wide and close grip 315 7x2

Reactive Sling Shot Bench 225x31

Full Boar Sing Shot Bench 225x23

Stretched out overhead triceps extentions 72.5  x 51


Was just a day for some speed training and some blood flow, was a good day all in all. 

Screw the rack pull, one handed chinup baby

So, the plan today was to leave work at noon, rest some before the gym, then hit it hard.  Plans changed, got off at 2.  So no time to rest before the gym, however, pretty sure those rolled chicken tacos from Taco Bell fueled a day I won't forget.  I'll post numbers below, but for the goodness.  So, our accessory work was just chinups, and my partner decided on set 3 to do a set of close grip pullups instead of chins.  So naturally I called him a motherfucker.  On my 4th rep I asked how many he got, he said 4, I thought he had done 3 and thought I beat him on that 4th one.  So I did a 5th.  Then I made the joke we're not done.  Then acted like I was going to do a one handed chinup and actually came off the ground.  So I was like "Fuck dude, gotta record this incase I manage to do it."  So, tossed him my phone, got some chalk, and I'm gonna call it 1.5 instead of 2, but I managed to do a one handed chinup.  My 315 pound fat ass, did a one handed chinup.  It's funny, I remember benching 135, and 500, everything in between and over... don't really register quickly.  This though... damn... I'm elated.  So okay, numbers...


Rack pulls, 2nd pin.  135x6, 225x5, 315x1, 405x1, 495x1, 585x1

Chinups 1x5, 1x3,

Close grip pullup 1x5

ONE HANDED FUCKING CHINUP 1.5

Okay, this high still isn't coming down.  Bench tomorrow!


Oh yeah, video on FB/IG. 

More benchy goodness.

Past few days at work have been hell with the blackest of Fridays/parking lot sale.  But it's been good.  So haven't gotten as much sleep as I'd like/want, but today was still good in the gym despite working 8 hours before.  My training partner was getting over a cold which kinda felt like it was kicking back in on him so we cut our accessory work just a bit.  Was still a really good day though.  So lets throw some numbers down.


Reverse Grip Benchpress 135x8, 185x8, 225x5, 275x1, 315x1, 365x1

Chin Ups  4x3

Grenade grip pressdowns  70  3x10

Funtastic upper back day.

So, after yesterdays squat day my ass is so sore.  Yes, squats damnit.  Anyway, today did upper back. Was really good actually.  The machine I wanted to use was taken, but you know, improvise, adapt, overcome, and I'm glad I did.  Actually did standard lat pull downs, ended up pulling more than I had thought, which was nice.  Okay, figure I'll fire out some numbers then get ready for my blackest of Fridays shift, fortunately I didn't open.

Lat Pull Downs 100x10, 130x10, 160x8 190x6 220x3 250x3

Chin ups, 1x5, 1x3, 1x4, 1x4, 1x5

Straight arm pull downs  52.5 3x15


Weight was 316 this morning, but I'm not surprised with how much I ate yesterday, was damn tasty though. 

Turkey day/Squat Day

Damn, today was really fucking good.  Not only was I stuffed on turkey, but man... squats were good today.  Just did my usual doubles for speed, but everything felt like it was clicking right.  Weight was moving well, depth was good.  Only way I could be more pleased would be if the weight had been higher.  But it'll get there.  Okay, lets fire out some numbers.


Squats 135x10, 185x6, 225 3x2, 245 3x2, 275 3x2

Glue Ham raises  3x8

Then spent some time with the foam roller letting it pleasure me in ways that were making me moan and pop.  Yeah, I went there.  Okay, time to put this one to bed.  Upper back tomorrow morning!

Three month deadlift drought...

I thought today was just a decent day at first.  After looking back, I'm now upgrading it from decent to pretty damn solid.  Was the first time in just over three months I've been able to do any kind of real deadlifting.  Didn't want to go crazy with it, so I pulled from 3" blocks instead of the ground, which was a good idea.  Anyway, since today was a heavy day, went heavy, only one accessory, which wore me the fuck out considering it wasn't that many. Anyway... here's the numbers.

3" Block Deadlift  135x6, 225x5, 315x1, 405x1, 500x1, 550x0

Missed that 550, but it broke well, just realized if I had attempted to completed it I wouldn't have maintained form and could have pulled my back.

Only accessory today was...

Chinups 4x3

Squats Thursday, so looking forward to that.

Good bench day...

Had the fun of being up at 3am this morning to be at work at 4am.  In spite of this, today was a good day at the gym.  Did have a wee nap beforehand, so that helped.  Didn't feel today would be as good as it was, however, I was pleasantly surprised.  Just going to post some numbers, gotta be back at work at 4am tomorrow, so need to work on getting to sleep.


Reverse Grip Bench 95x15, 135x15, 185x12, 225x8, 275x4, 315x2, 365x1

Grenade Grip Pressdowns  42x12, 47x10, 52x10, 57x10

Chinups  3x4

JM/Tate Alternating 40lb dumbbells, 25/15/10 no rest sets

Laying single arm tricep extensions   22 right arm/24 left arm.


Bodyweight was at 310.2 this morning.

Biceps, yes I hate myself.

Okay, thanks to my training partner having to make a quick trip out of town, the program I had set for starting this weekend is being pushed back to starting Sunday.  So, today we just decided to do some biceps, because... well, I hate myself.  I don't particularly like working biceps unless it's via rows and chinups, but oh well... I figure why not, and lets log it. 

Machine curls 50x15, 70x15, 90x12, 110x12, 130x12, 150x10, 170x8, 200x6

Single arm cable curls  42.5  3x8

Ladder bar curls, no rest between sets. 20x8, 30x8, 40x8, 50x8, 60x8, 50x8, 40x8, 30x8, 20x8

Phillips Curls  Standard 15 and 20 pound dumbbells... pain was had here but not as bad as most days.



Squats and tire flips tomorrow.  Should be a larf.

Non-DL Back Day

Holy fuck nuggets, my biceps and forearms are killing me right now.  That's how you know it was a good back day.  I can train biceps directly and they don't bug me much.  What I did today... motherfucker, where the biceps connects to the forearm has been so sore I've been T-Rexing a bit this evening.  It's a good feeling but damn.  Okay, so... partner had a work emergency come up so I went by myself today.  Still a good day, I just feel like I rushed through everything a bit more since I was in and out in about 35 minutes.  But... that's acceptable.  Lets drop some numbers...


One arm plate loaded rows  70x10, 115x8, 160x8, 205x8, 250x6 

Chin ups  8 sets of 3

Already at this point my forearms were on fire, but damned if they didn't look big in the gym.

Straight arm pulldowns  62.5  4x15



That was my day today, nice and simple, oh yeah, bodyweight was 311 this morning(my weight is down down.)  Damn that was a stretch for that reference but I'm okay with it.  Won't really be posting my weight every day, but maybe once a week or so.  Or hell, maybe I will, we'll see. 

Regularly scheduled programming, bench...

Okay, like I said, I'd be back to normal.  So, today was really damn good.  Doing reverse bench since it seems to be far less taxing on the shoulders.  The new Inzer elbow sleeves really help a lot with the elbow issues I was having.  So felt damn good in the gym today.  Going to fire out some quick numbers and get down to this brinner I'm about to have.


Reverse Grip Benchpress 135x8, 225x8, 245x8, 275x6, 295x3

Overhead Triceps Dumbbell Extentions   100 3x15

Chinups 1x5, 1x3, 1x4,  Final set was 1x2 but I used the rock climbing grips. 



I'm sure these will start getting wordier as I go, but you know... brinner.

It's been a minute...

Okay, so where have I been?  Not wanting to post this entry mostly.  Gonna try to catch up on the past, lets go ahead and call it two and a half months.  So, Aug 31st went to Chicago for All In.  With an exception it was probably the best weekend I've had in a long assed time.  Met some pretty awesome people, All In was fucking amazing.  Mom had some issues while I was gone, get home to that and she wasn't really able to walk and feeling pretty horrible.  So, got back on Sunday night, went to work Monday morning, when I got off, came home.  Mom had to go to the hospital, she was then airlifted to Chattanooga.  Over the next 20 days it seems like I was spending most of my time between Erlanger and Siskin.  Coming home mostly to eat a meal, shower, and grab some sleep before going to work or the hospital.  Seeing all the likes and comments on updates was actually helpful.  Seeing an unfriending during that time made me realize something I should have known all along, but I didn't want to admit it to myself.  Anyway, I would try to get some training in, but it was hard.  Then yay, I started getting ill.  After way too many test of stuff I don't even like thinking about, turns out it was costochondritis.  Basically, all the cartilage in my rib cage became inflamed.  It usually only happens for a few reasons.  None of those reasons could be found in me.  Particularly one that I'm grateful of.  So that's a bonus.  Apparently my body is still a mystery to earth sciences.  So, that put me out of the gym for about 4 more weeks.  I guess I kinda buried this down because it's not something I'm the most comfortable talking about, so hopefully most people have gotten bored and already left.   But my depression has gotten pretty bad over this period.  To the point that coupled with the costochondritis and just not caring my weight has dropped pretty crazy.  In 3 weeks I dropped about 20 pounds.  Before I left for Chicago I was 341.8, right now currently sitting at 305.2, this hasn't helped my muscle dysmorphia.  So even though I'm still gigantic and strong, everytime I look at myself, I feel tiny and weak.  So yeah, falling back into too much of some bad habits, and not taking care of myself like I should.  But I have been training, I'll start back the regular work next week.  Not better yet but getting there.  It's like Randal said in Clerks 2  "I hate everyone and everything seems stupid to me." 

Right now debating on if I should just post this or post everywhere I normally do. 

Easy shoulder day...

So, this one will be short.  I'll probably post something over the weekend.  But good day.  Next week will either be a deload or an off week.  Haven't decided yet.  But we'll see...



Machine Shoulder Press  80x10, 100x10, 120x8, 140x6

Machine Lateral Raises  150  4x15

Single Arm Triceps Press Downs  37  4x15

V-Bar Pressdowns  100x15, 110x15  120x15  130x13

Double Cable Long Bar Pressdowns   47  4x12

Few squats, stupid rib pull...

Okay, so the rib pull is bothering Chris still, so after our first couple of sets of squats we changed just moved to accessories.  Kinda glad we did because holy fuck, my legs are throbbing right now.  Hope this goes away quick because get to do an unload at 4am, so that's going to suck ass.  Before I get to numbers, the glute ham raise hypers we do.  We've gotten to the point that body weight is far too easy, like 10-15 reps easy.  So today I think "25 pounds isn't much"  So I tell Chris to grab a 25 pound kettlebell.  Holy fuck, my hammies are on fire.  Like, bad... so guess what, 25 pounds is a lot.


Squats 135 x 8, 155x8

Glute Ham Raise Hypers BW x 10, BW+25lb kettlebell 1x6, 1x7, 1x8, and I'm being lenient with calling that 8th one an 8th.

Hip adductors 165 x 10, 190 x 10, 205 2x8

Hip adductors  190 x10, 220 x10, 225x10, 230x10

Standing cable situp 1 wide, 1 narrow  2x30


Seriously, even walking up my ramp at home sucked today.  Okay, shoulders tomorrow then no training post for a few days because off the Chicago!

Rib pull equals no deadlifting

So, partner has a ribcage pull so we switched up and did hip thrusters instead of deadlifts, and man... I can tell I've neglected my hips a bit.  I need to stop that.   It feels like... well, if you know what a hip thruster is then you know what it feels like I did all day.  But you know me, always keeping it PG rated.  Yeah, that's it.  Anyway, I'm beat so I'm going to post up some numbers and hit the hay.


Hip Thrusters  135x10, 155x10, 175x10, 195x10

Short Stroke Behind The Head Pull Downs(hard to explain, great exercise)  140x10, 150x10, 160x10, 180x10


Straight arm pulldowns  100 4x15

Bench day

Man, today was a good day for bench.  Very minimal shoulder issues.  Using the Slingshots is helping a lot which is nice.  Had a busy/long day at work so was a bit tuckered out going in, still a great day though.  Tomorrow unfortunately is a 4am day, two this week, then yay, Chicago this weekend.  Should be fun as long as I don't get shot.  Kidding, who'd wanna shoot me, I'm lovable.  Anyway, some numbers...


SS DE Bench Press  135x10, 185x8, 225x5, 275 4x2 315 4x2

V-Bar triceps pressdowns  100 x 10, 120 3x10

Chinups  1x6, 1x5, 1x5, 1x3


Six in one set is the most I've done recently which is pretty awesome.  Seven is the most ever in one set, I'll equal that in the next few weeks, break it before the meet for funsies.  Anyhoo, that's enough for now.  Gotta shower/sleep, 3am comes early.  Or late depending on when you're reading this.

Skwats!

So, decent day, had a set knocked off thanks to a pinched/cut had on second to last set.  But it's all good.  Still a pretty solid day.  So lets see how we kick this badboy off.  Today was the first time I didn't feel like doing squats.  But I did them and enjoyed them... just wasn't feeling it. 

Squats 135 x 6   185 4x2, 205 2x2 225 2x2

Hip adductors   190 x 10   205 x10  220 x6

Hip abductors   190 x10, 205 x10, 220  2x10


Standing cable situp   1 set narrow stance x25   1 set wide stance x25



This upcoming week will be very condensed since I'm going to Chicago on Friday.  After I'm thinking Wednesday there won' be any post till at least Monday.  Just a weekend trip of wrestling and good times.  ALL IN BABY!  I might post somethings about that too under the life category. 

Shoulders, triceps, long assed day...

So, thanks to work issues the amount of sleep I got before having to be at work at 4am was not good.  Long hard day there, so felt like absolute ass going into the gym, even after a nap.  But blah.  Those got put behind me, today wasn't a hard day at the gym, but it was solid and felt way better getting in there than not going.  Anyway, nothing else exciting, so lets throw down some numbers...


Overhead press 95x8, 135x8, 185x6, 225x4

Machine lateral raises 150  4x15

Handle Grip Triceps pressdowns  62x15, 67x 15, 72 2x15

Grenade grip press downs   30x15, 40x15, 50 2x15


That liquid grip really helped holding on to the grenade grip too, so that was nice.  Anyhoo, enough for today... Squats are next!

Lots of rows, little deadlifts...

Okay, another long day at work, but it was good.  Pretty stress free, I'm thinking however, the past few days got to me a bit because my core felt like it was ripped in twain.  The rows felt fine, after the first set of trap bar deadlifts with shrug it was like "holy shit, I don't think I need to do another set because of this pain."  So I was wise and didn't.  So yay me.  Anyway, here's some numbers.


Hammer rows 70x8, 115x8, 160x8 205x8 255x8 and finally... 295x8.  New rep PR on that, seriously can't get anymore weight on there.  Friend of mine Adrian joked about figuring out a way to hook up bands to it.  I think I came up with a way.  We'll see in a few weeks. 

Trap Bar Deadlift with shrug  315 x6, this was where I was like "nope!"

Straight arm pulldowns 70 x50  That was a burn out of course...



Oh yeah!!! Got a new product called Liquid Grip because that gym doesn't allow chalk.  It's not as good as chalk by any stretch, but it worked pretty nice actually.  Anyhoo, enough for today.  Stay frosty.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled bench day...

So lets see... I was beat going into the gym today.  Even after a solid night of ambien fueled sleep, the fact in a 28 hour span I worked about 21 hours still took a lot out of me, or so I thought.  Felt horrible, turned into a great day.  Shoulder felt good on 405 which was nice, my bench setup felt on point.  So yeah, good times.  Lets pop some numbers...



SS Bench Press 135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 275x5, 315x1, 405x1

Dumbbell French press  100 3x15, 100 1x30    So, on the last one went full beast mode, could have been anger, could have been the lovely woman standing near by doing goblet squats.  The world may never know.  They know.  They know.

Face Pulls  80  4x15



So yeah, good day.  Back work tomorrow after work work.  Should be fun.

Life update, no actual numbers!

Okay, a number or two might appear in here. 

So lets see, today's my birthday.  It's been an interesting past year.  Good, bad, ups, downs.  People came, people went.  Not sure some of those were for the best, but eh.  Anyway, 42 down, 7 to go. Okay, that was morbid but it made me laugh.  Man, if I die in like 7 years, whoever reads this will think back to it and be like "what the fuck?!?!"  Okay, so the things that really matter.  The gym.  Only two days at the gym this week.  Partner is out of town for business which is a good thing, not sure he realized how hard training for a meet is on the joints/tendons.  So a few days of rest will help us both heal.  Speaking of healing and the gym, for the first time in a long time, my pain levels have been pretty decent.  Not sure if I've gotten used to the unholy amount of ankle pain or it has actually gotten better, but either way, I'll take it.  Being about 30 pounds lighter I'm sure helps, but still.  Oh and don't worry, I'm still about 330 pounds, it's been nice, I've actually lost a little more, but it's all been from the waist, at least according to my friend David who saw me from the back the other day and didn't realize it was me, he said as soon as he saw me he was like "damn, that dude is a beast"  and yes, I checked, he said "a beast" not "obese."  Work is going good, got a promotion, it feels like a good fit, so that's nice too.  Now, lastly, health... had my 6 month blood work done yesterday.  Test levels are good, blood sugar is good, cholesterol is good, and liver function is good.  So I got that going for me, I blame this straight edge lifestyle I live.  Now, time to end my birthday the best way I know how.  Glass of scotch and Taylor Swift videos.

Rows, Deadlifts, and Shrugs, OH my...

Today was damn good.  So many rows and deadlift/shrugs that my grip is completely gone.  New rep PR on the hammer row machine, because well, I can't add anymore weight to it without buying a welder at work.  Although, not a bad idea.  Anyway, enough of that.  Good/long day at work but oddly a fun day.  Couple of long days in a row, but an almost adequate amount of sleep last night plus a venti Double Shot with 2 extra pumps of syrup before the gym helped.  So lets do some numbers...


Hammer Strength row machine 70x8, 115x8, 160x8, 205x7, 230x6, 250x5(rep pr!)

Trap Bar Deadlift with a shrug on each rep  315 pounds 3x6


Man, I will say I was completely blown up after those dl/shrugs, it wasn't this bad last time I did them, but I also didn't work an 8 hour day before the last ones, so that might have something to do with it.  At any rate, I'll put this badboy to bed for the night.  Rest of the week might be kinda spotty. 

Fun bench day, minor setback....

So felt good going in the gym today.  Shoulder felt nice, the minor setback was to my partner after the first set of skullcrushers, so I'm fine.  He pulled something in his elbow a bit.  We stopped there to keep from aggravating it. Also found out that the service I use to publish to Twitter seems to have stopped doing that, so I guess I'll have to manually do this every place.  Yeah, today's is pretty uneventful so here's some numbers.


Close grip shoulder saver bench 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x2, 315x1, 365x1

Skullcrushers 135 1x10

Lotta squatta

Okay, I was reaching for that title.  Hopefully it caused some eye rolls and groans.  So, today was an all around good/fun day, not just in the gym.  Once again, squats are making small progress and while I did do a bigger jump than I had intended just because I wanted to see how I would handle it, I'm glad I did.  On my final set of doubles I went to 275, which once again, isn't much.  It was funny, on my 3rd set of 225 I had the thought "I should do 275 on my last one to see how I handle it."  After loading it and getting myself ready I stood at the rack for a moment like "Yep, this is the one that's going to kill me, not going to be able to walk again for 12 weeks."  Did the lift anyway, handled the first one so well I told my partner "Okay, stop spotting me and check out my depth"  Turns out as deep as I was hitting 185-225 so I'm happy, well as happy as I'm capable of being.  So I'm good with that.  It was a good simple day, just a decent amount of squats and one accessory, plus one set of Phillips curls for punishment. 


Squats 135x6, 185 4x2, 205 4x2, 225 3x2, 275x2

Glut Ham Raises/Hyper extensions   x8 each one with a static hold at the top.  I do a lot of posterior chain work, but holy hell those static holds really fire up my glutes and hamstrings.


Phillips curls 20/25lb dumbbells.  Got my bicep work in for the month now!

Shoulders/triceps, now that's what I call a good day.

So, lets see... this week has been pretty shitty in a few aspects.  Like plans changing, days changing, and shit like that.  But it's like "eh, whatever."  Although, this week as far as the gym goes it's been really fucking solid.  Today was no exception.  It was funny, before I started my heavy lift today I said to my training partner "Okay, so I want 3, but I'm feeling really fucking great, so that means I'll probably fail trying to get the first rep."   Damn, I was wrong and it was great.  I'm also in an oddly great mood.  This doesn't happen often, also, don't get used to it.  I figure I'll hop to numbers now. 

Double Arm Landmines 1 plate x10, 2 plates x10, 3 plates x8, 4 plates x6, 5 plates x5.  I was fucking ecstatic after this.  My previous PR on these was 3, and that 3rd one was a grinder.  So super pleased.

Machine lateral raises 200 4x10

Skull crushers 115 x 6, 135 x7, 135 x7, then the final one, apparently I went Super Saiyan because 135 x15

Straight bar triceps pressdowns 72 4x15



So yeah, fucking great day. 

Oh yeah, also, I realized the other day that Facebook doesn't allow Twitter to post to it anymore, so I use a service called dlvr.it to update Twitter to with any new blog post.  Then I would use Twitter's automatic function to post to Facebook, so as it turns out I had a couple(I think) post now show up on Facebook, so I now have to go in manually and publish this to Facebook, so if anyone from there actually reads this... if I ever miss a day, www.mattknight816.com will show you everything, but I'll do my best to not forget to post a link on Facebook.  I assume some people do since the last one had several views from Facebook, but eh.  Still shocked sometimes that this thing gets as many views as it does.  But thanks all! 

Deadlifts, and I hate being cut.

Not that kind of cut, don't worry I'm still fat as hell.  Yesterday we did a recalibration at work, so while cutting some straps off some boxes one of the straps popped back and put a cut on my index finger right between my first and second knuckle on the palm side, so gripping the bar for deadlifts was a bitch.  Even after I super glued it shut it still popped open on 500, so nothing like the added pain of chalk and sweat getting in that cut to really put a hindrance in pulling.  Aside from that work was a good pretty chill day.  Rest of the day was pretty shitty.  So we'll just jump to numbers...


Block pulls 135x8, 225x5, 315x1, 405x1, 500x1

Standing cable situps  100 4x15

Hand was having some issues, so couldn't really do the other accessory I had in mind, which was okay since I had plans for the night and needed to get home and get showered/ready.  So that worked for the bestish.  Anyway, enough rambling. 

Benching, I must say...

...today was a good day.  There's your Cube reference for the day.  Although, at this point if you haven't thought of Ice Cube at least once, I have to question what you're doing with your life.  So seriously though, damn, today was good.  Went decently heavy, on everything.  Everything felt good, very minimal shoulder pain.  Even after being at work at 7 this morning.  So yeah, life is grand today.  Because of this I fully expect back day to be soul crushing, but eh... that's not till Tuesday(there's your second music reference of the blog).  Lets pop some numbers down...


Slingshot Bench 135x10, 185x10, 225x6, 315x1, 405x1

Rope pressdowns 37 4x12

Seated tricep dumbbell extentions 100 4x15


Doing a heavy block for the next 3 weeks, so this will be deeply satisfying.  That's all for tonight, 4am work comes early.  Ciao for now!

Training has been done, just lacking on posting...

Okay, I basically missed Thursday post and Friday's post will be posted on Saturday night.  So I'm a little behind, oopsie.  I'll just summarize Thursday quickly.  Didn't feel like going in, went anyway, nothing special, kinda went through the motions, this past week was a bit of a deload week so it didn't bother me.  Was just beat up from work, one of the days I had to be up at 3am.  Didn't bother trying to take extra caffeine to give me a pop before I went in.  We all have those days.  Now, Friday was squat day so once again, another squat day I'm pleased with.  When I say pleased, I'm pleased with my desire to do squats again, not the weight, but I know the weight will come as long as I can stay healthy.  So, we'll get to those numbers...


Squats 135x5, 155x5, 185 2x2, 205 2x2, 215 2x2, 225 2x2.  Depth is good, form is good, coming out of the hole is good.  They're all good.  Still forcing myself to take it slow.

Hyper extentions with a glute ham raise.  3x10, each one had a hold at the end so hammies were kinda tuckered out.

Seated calf raises 115x30, 205x35  295x7, so I found out that at 295 on those, not only can I not do a huge amount, but the pads that go across the quads dig in so hard I wanted to scream.  That was fun.

Almost deadliftless back day...

Okay, so today was a damn good back day.  The plan was to not do deadlifts, however, called an audible in the gym and changed the shrugs into a deadlift with a shrug using the shrug cage.  So that was pretty intense/fun.  Also might explain why my traps are killing me at the moment.  Where's a rogue to disarm these death traps when you need them.  Damn... got a bit nerdy there... anyway, lets pop down some numbers.


Hammer strength one arm rows  70x8, 115x8, 160x6, 205x4, 215x4, 230x3, 250x3

Trap bar deadlift with shrug on each rep   315   3x6


Straight arm pulldowns  22.5x30, 37x32, 47x35



Upper back was pretty trashed after this, so I'll put this baby to bed now.

Very odd bench day...

So today was an interesting bench day, not much was done as far as weight goes, but a lot to help correcting some flaws in my partner's bench since it's not progressing as much as we'd like to see.   Worked with getting him to bench with his back/lats more.  That will take some adjustment but he'll get it.  I'll just hop to numbers and exercises on this one.

Bamboo Bench, 145 6x10, alternating pinky and index finger on the ring.

Banded unracks 3x10 using mini-band

Skull crushers  115 2x8  Had to stop thanks to my partner pulling his ribs a bit.

Long bar double cable pressdowns 47.5  1x12


Then did some touch point work which was fun.



Like I said, an odd day, but a helpful learning day.

Squats, am I enjoying them again?

So after the happy accident of squatting in my boots and realizing it helps me crush my depth and the fact my back has been feeling good, I've been really enjoying doing squats again.  While I still have yet to do much heavy work, there is a certain sense of glee and anticipation of squat day.  I haven't had this in like nearly a decade, so this has been nice.  Yesterday was a pretty solid squat day even though going in, I felt like ass.  I do find it funny, I always warm up with the bar.  I can't even hit anything that begins to resemble a quarter squat with just the bar.  I end up looking like I'm ratcheting myself down while I try to warm up with it. Each one is just a tad lower than the last one.  When I finally put plates on the bar, then it's like oh yeah, hammies can touch the calves now.  So that's nice.  Okay, so like I said, pretty easy day, just a decent amount of squats with just enough time between sets to lower the bar on the rack and my partner to do his doubles.  Anyway... numbers...


Squats 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 185 10x2, speed feels good on all of them, coming out of the hole super strong, I know it's not heavy, but I know most people who read this know my history of squatting, so it's the little victories, next week I'm going to start going 225 for my doubles. 

Cable sidebend burnouts 100 x75 each side.  I was toast after that.

Day late shoulder post...

Despite being pretty exhausted going into the gym from a lack of sleep and a truck day, yesterday turned out to be pretty decent in the gym.  We did have to call it a little earlier than planned due to cramping(not mine for a change) but missing one set is better than a torn triceps.... so I'll just throw these numbers out...



One armed landmines 25x10, 35x10, 45x10, 55x10, 65x10
Machine lateral rasies 150 3x20
Stretched out rope extensions   80x8, 80 2x15
Grenade grip pressdowns 30 2x15

Bah, back day, missed lift...

So, today sucked.  Should have realized it was going to.  Had a good night's sleep, didn't sleep on either shoulder too long without flipping over, woke up feeling good.  So naturally, I missed a lift I was wanting.  Did block pulls, 5 plates came up like nothing.  So figured I'd go for 5 plates and a quarter which would be 20 pounds heavier than the last time, came off the blocks nice, I just couldn't get my hips into it and had I tried to grind it out it would have been all lower back, so I was like "Nope, don't break yourself" and sat it back down.  At any rate, I'll get it next time, going to be a lot more pull throughs and hip thrust between now and then.  So lets get to some numbers...



Block pull deadlifts  135x10, 225x10, 315x4, 405x1, 495x1, 565x0

Hip adductors   200 3x10

Hip abductors  150 3x10


Was a bit short of a day but even with missing the lift was a good day, learned what I need to do to fix that issue, so I'm going to take that away as a positive.

Good bench day, hell of a chinup day....

So, damn, today was pretty good for bench, shoulder was a little off but got better as I went.  Then did chinups for the accessory, did have 2 accessories plans, however... after we were done with the chinups, holy fuck, could not move.  Used the weighted vest, taking a weight out after each attempt.  You notice I said attempt, that's why the numbers will be like .75 on a few... but man, upper back was thrashed after this.  All of me was thrashed after this... so... numbers....



SS Bench, 135x10, 185x6, 225x5, 315 6x2

Chinups, 40 pound weight vest, so starting weight of 370 total.  40x.75, 36x.75, 32x.75, 28x.75, 24x1, 20x1, 16x2, 12x3, 8x3, 4x4, then no vest x4.


So, once again I've said people as fat as me should not be doing chinups, holy fuck, people as fat as me should not be adding on 40 pounds just to make chinups harder.  But yeah, I'll keep doing it. 

Squat day, wonky knee stability

So, today was not what I'd call a good day.  When I got up this morning my right knee felt a bit awkward, but not really in pain.  So, I went in for squats, and honestly squats weren't bad, felt strong on all of my weak assed squats, however, my knee still felt wonky.  So did my squats, unloaded my vest down to 16 pounds for box jumps, did a couple and realized my knee didn't feel that stable, so didn't want to try pressing things since even though I made those jumps, the landing was a bit weird and was worried it would do something bad I didn't want it to or it would go out on me and I'd take an unintentional bump and break my everything.  So numbers today are going to be pretty damn short....


Squats 135x5, 155x5, 185 2x2, 205 2x2, partner's back went a bit wonky so we stopped on that one to move on to jumps.  And yeah, just a bad day all around aside from feeling strong on my squats.


So blah, bench tomorrow. 

Shoulder win, yet, am I a loser?

So today was a damn good day at the gym really, hit a new PR, did skull crushers without feeling like my elbow was going to rip apart, and we'll get to that in a bit, but now I feel I must ramble.  So, I was bored and didn't want to sit at home tonight while watching powerlifting, wrestling, and dragon ball videos on YouTube while listening to music, so I was like "I'm going to go do something."  I remember used to I'd hang out with friends at least once or twice a week.  Tonight I was thinking I wonder who would like to do something?  Then kinda going through my list "Well, he's probably doing something with his girlfriend, he's married and has kids, she's doing something with her friends"  So I was like, oh well, I'll figure out something.  So in my adventure to find something to do, I ended up putting about 120 miles on my car riding around unable to think of anything or find anyone to hang out with.  This drive allowed me time to think and I had an odd thought, in the past year the two people I've hung out with most is a dude that lives in Colorado and a chick that lives in Chicago.  So I was like "I'll go to a bar!"  Then I was like "Man, going to a bar alone, that will make me feel like a loser."  Oddly enough, I know people who know me through various social media platforms think of me as this witty and charming fellow, but as it turns out, I kinda look like an unapproachable asshole who will murder you if you say hello to him.  Much like Meat Loaf sang, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, but I'm really not that unapproachable.  Murdering you for saying hi probably won't happen, but I can't rule it out.  But yes, I am an asshole, a likable one though.  So yes, likable ass hole.  Yes to being a loser.  At least I've got the gym, and speaking of....lets throw some numbers down.


Double arm landmines 1 plate x10, 2 plates x10, 2 plates/1 quarter x6, 3 plates x6, 4 plates x6, 5 plates x3.  And damn, did the 5 plates x3 not only feel good, but also damn near killed me.

Machine lateral raises  200 3x10

Grenade grip pressdowns 47 x10, 52 x10, 57 x8, 62 x3

Skull crushers 115 3x8   Was the first time in a long time I've been able to do them without my elbows feeling like they were going to rip apart, so that was nice. 

Anyhoo, sorry about the rambling, squats tomorrow, should be a slap and a tickle.

Speed deadlifts and some dumb....

So, holy crap, the past lets call it 40 hours have sucked.  Store inventory last night, so didn't get off until about midnight, had to be back in at 6am this morning, inability to fall asleep easily means not as much sleep as I'd like, plus I kept waking up last night.  So I might have gotten about 3 hours of sleep in that time.  Fortunately, after the work/before the gym I did have a nap, an actual nap, not those fake naps that last 3 hours.  At any rate, even after this shitteous sleep schedule, I did manage to have a damn good day at the gym, speed pulls went really well.  I had the forethought to take a 64oz Gatorade to work so I wasn't really the least bit dehydrated today, think that might have been what caused that back tweak a couple of weeks ago.  So anyway... here we go...


Speed deadlifts 225x8, 315 5x2

Cable side bends 100 3x3

In between all the cable side bends, a total of 21 chinups

Straight arm pull downs 100 3x10, on sets 2 and 3 I held the last rep at about the mid point.  Went a bit over 2 minutes on the last one.  Pretty sure my lats flared three sizes this day!  Truly a Grinchmas miracle! 


I ordered a 50 pound weighted vest that will be here tomorrow, it's adjustable so the purpose of this is three fold.  Purpose the first, added weight for box jumps.  Purpose the second, added weight for chinups.  And finally... purpose the third... for the days I miss being 370+ pounds.  So that's going to be fun.  I'm going to blame Goku for the idea of using a weighted vest, but I'm okay with that.  Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up, scarf down a couple of tacos, then sleep, because yay, 6am again tomorrow. 

Today was a good bench day.

So, yeah, for as much as last week sucked, today was good.  Made sure I was up about 2 hours before I was suppose to be at the gym, had time to work on shoulder mobility and ice it before heading in and what a difference that made.  Also, got crazy with an accessory exercise.  Fat Gripz extreme, kettlebells, bands, and shoulder saver.  I'm working on hitting my stabilizers a lot more to help with the shoulder.  My heavy work was good.  So all in all, I'm pretty happy with today.


Close grip Shoulder Saver Bench with chains  135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x3, 315x1, 335x1   I'm thinking the chains were probably adding about 20 pounds when the amount of them came off the ground.


Modified bamboo bench.  That was the one I was talking about earlier.  4 sets of 8-10


Chinups 1x4, 1x4, 1x3, 1x1


My goal for chins is to at least hit 12 twice a week.  Getting a weighted vest this week for box jumps and chins.  So that should be fun. 

Here's the pic of the crazy bar setup for anyone that might have missed it.

Squats, and a sad minor victory.

It's odd how pleasing something as simple as a 225 pound squat can make you feel.  Particularly when it seems like every time you've attempt to go over 200 for over the past year seems to just injure your back.  Today was a really good day, with that sad minor victory.  But my depth on all of them was really good, at least to the point I'm pleased with it.  It's also sad how accidentally leaving my hiking/work boots on for a set a couple of weeks ago lowers my depth by about two inches, but once again, pleased with that as well.  Partner's squats are coming along nicely too.  So lets get to some numbers...


Squats  135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 185x2, 185x2, 205x2, 205x2, 225x2

Box jumps  5 sets of 5 to medium plyo box.  Once again, someone as fat as I should not be hurling themselves into the air.

Hyper extentions/glute ham raise 3 sets of 8 with a long pause on last rep.


So yeah, damn good day, over all I'm really pleased.  I'll shut this down for the evening, early morning tomorrow.

Shoulders, short and sweet.

Gotta be at work at 4am, so this one will be an abbreviated one.  Man, good shoulder day, left shoulder felt really good.  Did heavy landmines, all around a good day.


Double arm landmines 1 plate x10, 2 plates x8, 3 plates x8, 4 plates x6, 5 plates(pr) x1.5  Partner had to help with the first one a tad so not fully counting it.

Grenade grip single pulley pressdowns  40x12, 50x12, 60x10

Lateral machine rasies 200 3x12

Long bar double sided press downs  42.5x15, 47.5 x15, 57.5 x31



And that was it for today, hopefully the shoulder keeps feeling this well. 

Back day non-shit day.

What a difference a day makes.  Well, might have been because of the nice simplicity of the day since it was a heavy day.  But still, vast improvement over yesterday.  So lets pop some numbers down and put this baby to bed.


Power shrugs 135x10, 225x10, 315x8, 405x8, 495x6 585x3

Hip Adductors 200 3x12

Hip Abductors 150 3x12

Chinups 1. 


Gotta say, I attempted a chinup after the shrugs but after the other day my elbows were completely shot but I got pissed that I didn't do at least one while working my hips(they don't lie) and decided to force one. 

Bench-shit day.

So today sucked.  Slept funky on my left shoulder apparently all night so it was pretty dead today, gotta make sure I wedge my pillow under me tonight so I can't turn in my sleep.  Anyway, numbers...


Bench 135x10, 185x8, 225x4, SS 295x1

Grenande Grip Pressdowns 60x15, 70x12, 80x9

Face Pulls 100 4x10

Handle Grips Pressdowns  52 4x15

Squatish Day, more like posterior chain day.

So going out in a few so going to jump to numbers pretty quick, I will say a new PR has been set for total number of chinups done in a day though!


Good mornings 65x15, 85x15, 105x15, 125x15, 145x12, 165x8

Cable Pull Throughs wide stance  100 3x12

Cable side bends 100 3x12

Total chinups  24

Ab machine burnout 100 x18, because holy crap, my entire core was shot after all that.

Shoulders, plus a wee bit of triceps...

So, back isn't too bad, but I'm still babying it a bit, mostly because tomorrow is truck day, so gotta do this early tonight, 3am comes early if you're actually getting up at that time.  Anyway... good day today, didn't do anything overly stressful, so I'll just pop some numbers...


Seated overhead press 75x12, 115x12, 135x10, 165x10, 205x7
Lateral machine raises  200 3x12
Grenade grip pressdowns 42x12, 47x12, 52x9 57x10
Grenade grip cable Tate presses  40x12, 50x10, 60x10, 70x9
Cable front raises with rope 50 for a set of 50.

Speed pulls, pull ups, and a pull... f'n theme day...

So, today sucked hairy ones.  Was feeling good, after my third set of speed pulls, felt my back pull a bit, so set it down and swore blasphemously, cause you know, that's how I roll.   Anyway going to skip a numbers break down and just ramble.  I could feel my back like it was wanting to pull a bit at work yesterday, but it never did so I thought I was good.  Honestly, I'm good, it's not bad, it would just be a lot worse had I kept going today.  Fortunately, I seem to have become, I don't want to call it smarter because it's me, so I'll just say less dumb.  I did manage to do 12 total chinups which is 1 higher than my previous total.  Anyway, needed to make sure I got an entry in, so I guess that's where I'll stop for the day.  I need to come up with a catchy sign off.  I got it.  Stay frosty.

Heavy bench failureish!

So, up at 5 for work at 6 this morning.  Fortunately it was a short shift and I got off at noon, so I hit the gym at 1.  Once again, I'll say the best pre-workout I've ever found is Starbucks' Venti Double Shot, I get too extra pumps of syrup because I'm a moo.  But hey, it's close to 400mg of caffeine, so it works nicely.  Anyway, Went decently heavy for the first time in forever, good news, no shoulder pain with the Slingshot.  Bad news, not entirely sure I would have gotten it.  Haven't got my partner completely trained on spotting me when I'm going over 400, so he might have taken the bar a bit too soon.  It didn't help that when I got my setup first I was too high on the bench and there was no way I could have lowered the bar without re-racking it.  HOWEVER, once he grabbed the bar I started the push again pretty hard, so off my chest to about 3 inches up, good, that 3-4 mark was a ball buster where he put his hands on the bar, but he said he only grabbed and pulled a tiny bit before I threw it back up, so looks like I'll be doing some board benching for a bit to get past that point.  Lets see, that seems like enough so here's numbers.

SS Bench 135x10, 225x10, 315x4, 405x0ish.  See explanation above.

Then we did some as best we can without an actual bamboo bar, bamboo bar benchpress.  Here's a pic.

135 pounds total, sets of 15, 12, 12, 12.

5 total chinups

V-Bar press downs  100 x 34

Was a good day, hopefully the no shoulder pain will continue.  Gotta be at work at 4am so, gonna wrap this up tonight and consider sleep, might not happen, but it will be taken under consideration.

Squat day, not dead yet.

Which obviously means I didn't do enough.  I'm still nervous about my back while squatting because of that spasm issue I was having so we started light.  Trying to make sure my partner hits decent competition worthy depth each time so I knew I had to set an example, right now back feels good but I'm still loose, going to post this then hit a contrast shower soon, so that will help.  So lets get to some numbers.

Squats 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 185 3 sets of 2, each rep had a long pause at the bottom.  Partner's knee was hurting so I didn't want to push those any further and cripple him in the first week of his training.

Box jumps, middle plyo box.  4 x5.  Still proof to me that someone at my weight shouldn't propel themselves in the air.


Hyper extentions with hamstring flex  3x10   Holy crap, on the last rep of each set I did a hold, my hamstrings are dead right now.

Hanging leg rasies full power on these making sure we got the hips hit really hard.  1x15


Kinda feels like in helping him to train his squat I'm retraining mine, hopefully this will work some wonders I desperately need for my squats. 

Heavy shoulders!

Today was pretty solid, even after having to be at work at 4am.  Got to the gym around 3 this afternoon after a much needed nap.  Went in with a minor gameplan as far as my weight and nailed it pretty spot on.  So I figure I'll just hop to numbers today.


Double Arm Landmines  1 plate x10, 2 plate x8, 3 plate x6, 4 plate x5, 4 plate/1 quarter x3
Machine lateral raises   200 3x8
Grenade grip pressdowns 47.5 x 10, 52.5 x8, 57.5 x7
V-bar pressdowns  100 3x10
Front raise dumbbell burn out 25 x27


So far everything is feeling good, which is really nice.  Shoulder is feeling good, back is feeling good.  Tomorrow will be squats, so back could go wonky, but we'll see. 

Block pulls!

Man, this morning was fucking great, that's all their is to it.  Shoulder is feeling fantastic which is super nice.  We did some ME training this morning, which was fun and I was a bit stronger than I had expected to be, which was nicer.  I will admit my final block pull was a grinder, but it was one of those, I was shaky bringing it to my knees, but in my head I was like "FUCK THIS, YOU ARE LOCKING THIS DAMN THING OUT!"  Fun fact!  I also curse a lot in my head.  So lets hop to some numbers....



Block pulls 135x6, 225x5, 315x2, 405x1, 495x1, 545x1
Cable sidebends 100  3x10
Ab machine 100 burnout of 42 reps, didn't think I had another in me at 41 but I did I squeeze out the last one for Douglas Adams. 
Total Chinups 10


Off tomorrow, then back Thursday for some direct shoulder work.  Should be a slap and a tickle. 

A little DE Bench fun...

So, funny story before I get to the actual numbers.  Today doing 8 sets of 2 pause on the first rep.  So, I get my Full Boar SlingShot on, get set on the bench, unrack it, thinking damn this feels light.  Lowered it to my chest, locked my arms, exploded, completely lost my form because I pushed it so hard that my shoulders came off the bench.  Got up thinking "Damn, that was awesome."  Then I realized I forgot to go to 295 and it was just 205 pounds.  Damn, that was funny.  Today, was the first day of actually training my partner instead of training with him.  After having to be at work at 6am and doing an 8 hour shift, it was pretty hard but a good day.  So now... we get to numbers...


Dynamic Effort Bench Full Boar  205x2, 295 7x2.  Paused on the first rep for a press command each set.

Chinups 1x4, 1x3

T-Bar Rows  2 plates x12, 3 plates x12, 3 plates + quarter x10

Chinups  3

Grenade Grip Pressdowns  52.7x12, 57.5 2x12

Chinups 2

Face pulls 70.5  3x12

Chinups 2


Damn good day, hit a lot of focus on upper back today.

Finished reload week...

So, I finished reload week yesterday and today, the days were pretty boring so not really going to post numbers.  I will say that I wish I had remembered for a reload I shouldn't go balls to the wall, after training squats/legs today I can't stand up without wanting to scream.  Me and good sense go together like oil and water.  Anyway, actual serious training for a purpose beings tomorrow.  That will be fun. 

Reload deadlift day

Today was really good.  Back felt really good, I'm thinking that time off helped with that catch, we'll see how much it does when I squat.  Today also included an impromptu chin up challenge and a few impromptu curls with 135 and 225.  So lets hop to numbers...


Deadlifts, 135x8, 225x8, 315x4, 405x1, all beltless.
Ab machine I think I had plate 10 selected.  3x15
Hip abductors 200 3x15
Hip adductors 150 3x15

Chinup contest was a tie at 4 a piece. 

Reload Bench Day

Okay, so... after the week off from the gym following the deload week, it's now time for the reload week.  Going to just jump into numbers, but man, everything felt good today.  So lets see where we're at...


Shoulder Saver Bench 135x10, 185x10, 225x10
Handle Grip Press Downs  37x15, 42x15, 47x15
Over Head Band Triceps Mini Band 3x20
Machine Bench Selector 145  3x15
Pec Deck 140  3x20

Happy anniversary my beloved...

So, the actual anniversary was on Jun 9th, however, thanks to working 11 straight 11 hour days, I was a bit pooped.  Plus, it came at the start of an off week, my last day of that stretch was today, so I figure before I start my reload week, I'd try to hammer this out.  However, I'm sitting here, with a few other things on my mind, so this might turn into rambling, but don't worry, we're detouring through Mordor but we're coming right back to the Shire.  June 9th 1998 I walked into a gym, the equipment was purple and there was pink neon on the wall.  I was intimated, I was a colossal fatass but I was determined that I was going to be a wrestler.  In order to do that, I had to become less of a fatass and stronger.  The first time I ever benched, Brian the owner had to pull 70 pounds off my chest because I couldn't get it even once.  Just straight down to my chest.  I remember the first time I decided to attempt a plate on each side of the bench.  Alex spotted me, he was a wrestler too.  We had talked about wrestling before this, he was a wrestler.  He said at that point he knew I could do it because he saw the amount of drive I had.  In the first year I dropped over 100 pounds of bodyweight.  I remember for the longest time I had my belt hung on the wall to remind me to never go back to that.  Eventually I took it off the wall because I knew I wouldn't. 


The gym has been my best friend, my therapist, my love, in some cases my worst enemy.  Sometimes I've been too stupid to listen to my body and try working through injuries I shouldn't have.  Hell, once I was so injured I couldn't walk for a few months, but as soon as I could get knee and ankle braces on, I walked in there with a cane, because goddamnit, I could train upper body again.  I'm not sure exactly the point it became training, to some people it's working out.  I have triggers that set me off, "I want to lose weight"  "I don't want to get all muscley" "I don't want to get too big"  "I just want to tone."  It has become my passion.  It's what's what makes me happy.  It's like, I don't care what I do in life, job, love, sorrow... as long as I have the gym, I'll be okay. 

The gym has introduced me to people that the word friend isn't strong enough, they truly are my brothers and sisters and they mean more to me than I can ever explain.  Met one of the greatest people I've ever known thanks to the gym, unfortunately it's been almost a year since we lost him, but I like to think he'd be smiling knowing we still talk about him, think about him, and still miss him(even though he'd tell us to stop being pussies and go do squats). 

It's funny, 20 years later and I'm still training with the same person who I started with all those years ago.  He was way ahead of me then.  Now, well... the student has become the teacher even though he swears we do the same weight and same reps.  I think part of what I enjoy is the fact I get to torture him through new devious ways just to prove it's no where near the same reps and same weights. 

So yeah, I'm going to wrap this up because I got pretty wordy.  But it's been a great 20 years with plenty of ups and downs.  Here's to another 20 or more. 

Back day....

Woke up this morning with my back stiff as hell, could not get it to straighten up so that sucked, ended up scrapping deadlifts this morning. This was around 8am, finally around 1pm today it finally got lose enough that I could move without wanting to grumble.  Not a pull, just stiff, so another telltale sign I need that week off.  So instead we went to the gym we don't deadlift in and just did worked upper back.  So I'll hop to those numbers.


Lat Pull Downs 1 plate x10, 2 plate x10, 3 plate x10, 4 plate 3x10

Face Pulls 80x15, 90x15, 100x15, 110x15

Straight arm pulldowns  110 4x15

Two Days in One Post!

So, going to do two days in one post here since I forgot to last night. 

Leg day was Saturday this week, good day, felt good, decided to do some midrange squats to see how my back would hold up and it went well.  So lets throw down some numbers on that at first.  Oh, and insanity struck and I started with leg extentions, then squats.

Leg extentions 100x10, 115x10, 130x10, 145x10, 160x10, 175x10, 190x10, 205x10, 220x10, 235x10, 250x10

Midrange squats... now lets see how to explain these, I saw this huge dude I'm friends with on Facebook doing them once before so I figured I'd give them a shot.  You basically don't squat to full depth, but you don't also come completely up so it keeps constant tension on the quads, hips, glutes, and hamstrings. 

135  4x8

Calf Raises 115  2x25

And to stop my partner from whining we did one set of alternating dumbbell curls  60x8

I hope he sees that and whines more.


Bench day, man went in there today wanting to go all out, but fatigue struck, after our third exercise we started doing the math and realized we haven't had a deload or week off since last year.  So, we decided next week we'd do that.  Anyway, numbers on that...


Shoulder Saver Bench  135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 275x10, 315x6, 365x1.  I had every intention of attempting 405 today to see how that would feel, however, once I did that 365 I realized I was too damn fatigued to do it.

Cable grenade Tate presses  40x15, 50 3x15

Hammer triceps machine  4x20, giggity, 420.  This was the point where we realized how beat we were so we decided to skip the last exercise, deload the rest of this week, then take next week off.  Should be a blast. 

Shoulders, triceps, and donuts!

So, another sleep deprived day from having to be at work at 5am in Chattanooga.  But eh, good day none the less.  The GM at the gym gave me a donut for national donut day.  I wish I could say this is the first time I've ate a donut in the gym.   Tested my shoulders a bit today, and they seem to be feeling good.  We'll see how they feel tomorrow.  So some nice simple numbers...


Seated Smith Machine Military Press 75x10, 95x10, 115x10, 135x10, 155x10, 175x6    Stopped there because they were feeling good but didn't want to push it too hard yet.

Lateral raise machine 150 4x10

Grenade grip press downs 32x15, 37x15, 42x15, 47x15

Long Bar Double Cable Setup 52 4x10


Called it a day there.  Now I think I'm going to call it a night. 

Day late rack pulls...

So thanks to working an 8p-4a shift for a recalibration I forgot to get this posted yesterday.  Damn that was not a fun shift, granted, mostly because I had so little sleep, but getting up early and going to the gym was worth it.  Was a quick/easy day, the main lift and an accessory, but sometimes less is more.  Since I've got to switch to the subtitled Dragon Ball Super that number is going to stay the same until Friday night when I break out some more.  But anyway... lets get to some numbers, not many today...


Rack pulls 2nd pin  135x6, 225x6, 315x3, 405x1, 495x1, 585x1

Straight Arm Pull Downs 140 4x10


That's all for today.

Bench training...

Great day at the gym, not so much the rest of it, lets do some numbers....


Shoulder Saver Bench 135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 275x10, 315x10, 365x3

The 365 was a bit of a test, didn't want to push it too far, but it felt good. 

Rope pressdowns, single pully.
80x10, 90x10, 100x10, 110x10


Hammer Triceps Machine

120  4x20

Uppercut cable flies

40x25, 30x25, 25x25, 25x25


My chest was killing me after this.


Dragon Ball Count

601/667

Legs, blah...

Okay, so unfortunately, forgot to post this update yesterday, I was wiped out last night.  Another day where I had to be at work at 4am for the truck, so only like 3-4 hours of sleep, so by the time I finished at the gym, I was wiped but forced myself to stay up to my normal bed time, in the sleep deprivation I spaced and forgot.  Unfortunately, my plan was to do some squats, but by the time I got home and was getting ready for the gym, my back stoved up enough that I didn't want to risk it.  So, just did trained legs instead of squats.  Didn't watch any of Super either so my Dragon Ball number is the same as yesterday... so....


Leg raises 100x10, 115x10, 130x10, 145x10, 160x10, 175x10, 190x10, 205x10, 220x10, 235x10

Leg curl/hyper thingy  85x10, 85x10, 100x10, 110x10

Calf raises 110  4x25

Then just for fun did alternating dumbbell curls 45s x 13.

Triceps/shoulders...

Getting this typed up early since I've got to try to sleep at a stupidly early hour tonight.  Damn good day today.  Hit triceps pretty well and went a bit heavier/harder on shoulders which seem to be holding up well, we'll see how they feel after sleeping on them.  So since I've got to make dinner then attempt to get in bed and sleep, lets get to some numbers...


V-Bar pressdowns 60x15, 70x15, 80x15, 90x15, 100x15, 110x15, 120x15, 130x15, 140x15, 150x5, 160x9.   That 160 was a beast but I actually got it more than I thought I would.

Long bar double cable press downs   32x15, 37x15, 42x15, 47x15

Lateral raise machine 150 4x15

Front dumbbell raises  20 4x10

Still going easy on the shoulders, but they felt good.  We'll see how tomorrow feels...



Dragon Ball Count!

583/667

Sleep deprived rack pulls.

Okay, holy shit, so... currently working near Chattanooga, IF traffic is good, it takes me about 1:15 to get there, if not good, 1:45, so last night I closed then tonight I had to be back at 6am for replenishment.  So, I got about 4 hours of sleep, in addition to doing my regular work duties, I walked about 5 miles in the store, then went straight to the gym and did heavy rack pulls, fortunately they were from high pins, but I was on the deficit block.  My back has been feeling strong again, so decided to go heavy, just not going to do squats for another week or two.  But anyway, it's like Goku once said, "Every little bit helps!"  Or something along those lines.  Anyway, it was a pretty damn good day in there, aside from them having the fucking AC set to 76.  So, lets throw down some numbers...


Rack Pulls, 3rd pin, deficit block.
135x8, 225x6, 315x3, 405x1, 495x1, 585x1

After doing these I probably left about 20 pounds behind, but... having been the first time I've pulled in 3-4 weeks I'm happy with it.

Straight arm pulldowns  120   4x12

Face pulls  140  4x10


Called it there because me and my training partner were both hot and hungry.


Dragon Ball Count


569/667

Even less shoulder pain/bench!

So man, today was amazing.  My shoulder actually felt really good, very minimal pain.  It was odd and kinda scary.  Maybe I am healing.  Now I just gotta keep doing what I'm doing and not attempt to rush back into something heavy.  So lets get to some numbers.


Bench with Shoulder Saver  135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 275x10, 310x10

Machine bench  3 plates x15, 4 plates x15, 5 plates x14, had to have a little help with the 15th so not counting it.

Upper cut cable flies  50x12, 50x12, 40x15 35x15, 35x15


It was a damn good day.


Finished season two of Dragon Ball Super, so...


Dragon Ball Count

564/667

Getting close now!

Triceps/Shoulders, long assed day...

So, training at a store in Hixon, had to be in at 4am this morning.  Have to leave around 2 to make sure I make it in time.  So running on fumes now.  This will be quick.


Triceps Pressdowns 60x12, 70x12, 80x12, 90x10, 100x10
Grenade grip pressdowns 32x10, 37 3x10
Handle Pressdowns   37x10, 42x10, 47x10, 52x10
Lateral Raise Machine 100x15, 110x12, 120x10, 130x10
Front dumbbell raises   15s 4x12


Now I crash hopefully.

Squatless legs one more go

Doing this from my phone thanks to a cable outage. Anyway I'm up way too early since I have to be at work at 4am. Anyway, good day for legs. Tested my back very lightly with standing calf raises. Let's hop into numbers.

Leg extensions 100x10, 115x15, 130x15 145x15, 160x15

Leg curl/reverse hyper thingy, tis an odd machine

85x10, 90x10, 95x10 110x10

Standing calf raises 90 4x12

Seated calf raises 115 4x25

Dragonball count

548/667

Backfun

Really good day.  However, my plan to watch Cobra Kai before Dragon Ball Super has failed.  Good day at the gym.  Was reminded of a really good Gary story, fortunately Adrian was there to hear it too.  Anyway, we'll get to numbers before that depresses me...


Lat pull downs  1 plate x15, 2 plate x15, 3 plate x12, 4 plate 5x10
One arm row machine  3 plate 3x8
Face pulls 37 x15, 42 x15, 47 x15 52 x15
Straight arm pulldowns(vbar)  52 4x12


Dragon Ball Count

544/667

All In Chicago, Bench, Shoulder pain, Dragon Ball....

Holy shit, today was... eventful.  First, personal shit out of the way, got my ticket for All In Chicago!  So looks like Sept 1st I'll be in the Windy City!  That will be awesome, not sure if I'm just going to do it in a day or take the whole weekend.  Only downside is the Cubs are on the road that weekend or I'd definitely make it a full weekend trip.  Finished all of Dragon Ball GT, gotta say, it had some pretty low points and I can see why some people didn't like it, but over all, not too shabby.  I'll get my count up down there in a few minutes.  Taking a chance tomorrow with a job change so we'll see if the gamble pays off in the long run.  Hopefully so.  Okay, lets get to some training.  Man, today I got in such a groove using the Shoulder Saver from Elite FTS it's the first time I've felt good with free weights on bench in a minute.  It was a pretty sweet day until I went to 5 plates on the machine bench and my triceps was just like "nope, not today kiddo."  Which is odd, because my triceps is the same age as myself.  Little fucker. 


Shoulder Saver Bench  135x15, 185x10, 225x10, 275x10, 315x8
Machine Bench 3 plates x 15, 4 plates x15, 5 plates x a whole lotta nope.  Left triceps just shot out from under there.  No pain, was just fatigued.  So I guess that means I've been working them as hard as I have been lately.

Pec Deck  130x12, 145x12, 160 2x10




Okay, and Dragon Ball Count....


537/667


I'll start Dragon Ball Super this week.  But I also need to watch Cobra Kai, so I might hammer it out before I do Dragon Ball Super although I do plan on having Super finished before the movie comes out this December.  Anyway... enough for now.

Legs...

Completely spazzed and forgot to log yesterday.  No crying over spilled milk though, but going to make sure I get this one done.  Lower back is still twitchy so did a non-squat leg day which also included not doing leg curls.  So instead, I did a stupid amount of leg extensions along with some hip work.  Not sure I could remember how to walk afterwards.  Anyway... numbers...


Leg extensions   100x10, 115x10, 130x10, 145x10, 160x10, 175x10, 190x10, 205x10, 220x10, 235x10, 250x10

Hip abductors  90  4 sets of 15

Hip adductors  60  4 sets of 12






Current Dragon Ball Count...


506/667.  Getting close now!

Minimal shoulder pain!

Okay, so my shoulder was covered in k-tape, but at least didn't have a sharp stabbing pain while trying to bench.  So that was nice.  Granted, my stomach has been pretty fucked up from all the NSAIDs, but I've laid off them today.  So maybe I'm getting close to recovering, hopefully at least.  So, some numbers shall we?


Shoulder Saver Bench  135x15, 225x10, 315 2x6
Machine bench 3 plates x15, 4 plates x15, 5 plates x13
Grenade grip press downs  27x15, 32x15, 37x15, 42x15, 47x15
Cable flies  50 4x12


After all that my shoulder still felt pretty stable so I think I'll keep this routine up for a bit.


Dragon Ball count...

477/667!  Less than 200 to go!

Triceps with a dash of chest...

Okay, so back was feeling better today, but still not 100% so going to rest it tomorrow since I know more squats would just fuck it up.  Fortunately triceps are easy to do standing.  So that's what we did today.  Lets hop into some numbers...


v-bar pressdowns 60x12, 70x12, 80x12, 90x12, 100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 130x10, 140x10, 150x10 and damn, that 140 and 150 was a serious ball breaker, but it seems to be working nicely.

handle pressdowns, 42x15, 47x15, 52x12, 57x10, 62x10, 67x10, 72x10

hammer triceps machine 120 4x15

pec deck 160   4x10.  Shoulder felt pretty decent doing these so hopefully all the anitinflammatories I'm taking for my back are carrying over to my shoulder.


Dragon Ball count...

417/667

Back, and stupid f'n back.

So, decided not to do pulls since I had that spasm after doing squats, and after benching.  So decided to just focus on upper back.  However, going balls to the wall on it, caused it to act up, so I think I might need to do some light work for a week or so.  Anyway, we'll get to numbers.


Lat pulldowns (#of plates on each side)
1 plate x15, 2 plates x15, 3 plates x12, 4 plates 5x8
Row machine  (#of plates on each side)
1 plate x15, 2 plates x12, 3 plates x10, 4 plates x8.  That's where the spasm hit.
Straight arm pulldowns 42  burnout 51 reps.



Dragon Ball Count


397/667

Bench, and f'n back...

So, got my Shoulder Saver from EliteFTS in, decided to give it a shot today.  It actually felt pretty okay, although I'm having some stability issues with my left shoulder but at least I could bench with free weights which was handy.  So followed that up with the machine bench again.  Unfortunately, when giving my partner a break on the machine my back did that spasmy twinge again, so we called it after that.  So lets get to some numbers...


Shoulder Saver Bench  135x15, 225x8, 315x4, 365x1
Machine bench  1 plate x15, 2 plates x15, 3 plates x15, 4 plates x10

Unfortunately ended there, came home, used my TENS for about 1.5 hours and a lot of ice on the shoulder.


Dragon Ball Count

381/667

Squats/Stupid back

Been feeling good the last few weeks of squats, felt great today so I went up.  My stupid lower back did that funky thing again the low lumbar region.  It's hard to describe, it's like, if you know the sudden pain/tinge if you pull your back, but it never does actually pull.  Which is a good thing, just a worrisome thing.  Fortunately it did it after my last set, so I got all the squatting I had planned on today, only problem was, that was all I was able to do today.  So... numbers...


Squats 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5, 225x5




And my Dragon Ball Count...

354/667



Now, lets finish getting ready for a movie.

Triceps with some added chest...

Okay, good day at the gym, even though had to call an audible on the time thanks to some gastric stress earlier this morning.  Just going to hop into numbers now.


V-bar press downs  60x15, 70x15, 80x15, 90x15, 100x15 110x15, 120x15, 130x15, 140x15
Grenade grip press downs 30x12, 40x12, 50x12, 60x12, 70x12, 80x12, 90x12
Long bar cable pressdowns (alternating grips)  32x12, 37x12, 42x12, 47x12
Long bar cable pressdown breaks  52x7
Swung out rope extensions  80  3x12
Uppercut cable flies 50x12, 40x15, 40x20, 40x25


Dragon Ball count...

340/667

Speed pulls...

Forgot to do this since BattleTech had me all like O.O last night.  Anyway... just numbers while I still have them fresh in my mind.


Speed pulls  315 8x2
Straight arm pulldowns 100 4x15
Cable Side Bends  100 4x15
Face pulls   140  1x35



Dragon Ball Count


328/667

Bench fun

So it was humid as fuck in the gym today and for some reason people don't realize an air conditioner can solve that issue. So we went though quick. Good day even though you'd start pouring sweat as soon as you walked in the door.

Machine bench 1 plate x10, 2 plate x10, 3 plate x10, 4 plate x 10, 5 plate x11
Cable handle press down 32x15, 37x15, 42 x15, 47 2x15
Uppercut cable flies 40 3x10

Dragonball count

320/667