Gun show was full on last night. Again, been so long since vie done a workout like that, I’m not sure I made the best choices, but damn they were pumped up. I need to find the barbell curl equivalent for MY triceps. I will research for next gun show. May be as simple as regular skull crushers, close grip bench, or both. Damn, I think I just figured it out!
I love skull crushers with the ez bar and have been stubbornly using them for a long time now even though they’ve caused discomfort on and off.
Another 2 choices are smith reverse grip bench press, and PJR’s. Also decline close grip is awesome.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
[quote]trav123456 wrote:
You tryin to get swole of somethin? lol nice work dude[/quote]
Ha, yea bro I’m trying to get my swole going. I’m thinking I’m going to definitely have to have an arms day though so I can start approaching TheDude’s 19"s. My water guns have been steady at 17" for a couple years now…damn, who’d have thought no direct arm work wouldn’t result in growth? Ha! Truthfully, when I came up from 165-200 I wasn’t doing much direct arm work, and went from 15-17", therefore let myself believe pullups and shit were enough. Now I’ve gone years with no growth- stupid! [/quote]
LOL when I was enlightened to reality, it has made a lot of difference. I was doing two arm days/week for a while. Sort of a high volume approach, but with low rep sets.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
I should also take another look at John Meadows’ shoulder article, because there might be a better mass builder for me than military press…it is fun though.
[/quote]
I recently switched to incline press. Still hit seated press hard. I think I’m a better person because of it lol
So today I had a medical that went well. I was a little bit worried because there is one level of sound that I can’t hear, or it takes me longer to hear or something like that. It’s a very very high pitch, and it’s only my right ear. I only know this because I found this out at a police medical a while ago. It’s not a big deal, nor is it to the point of “hearing loss” such that I’d be disqualified. Anyway, my hearing was all good- still that one pitch or frequency or whatever in the right ear, but almost exactly a year later, it hasn’t gotten any worse, so that’s good. Vision- I’m a beast. Near, far, left, right, together- all better than 20/20, ranging from 20/13-20/18. Sniper school, sign me up.
So this medical was two parts, morning with nurse and tests, afternoon with doc going over results and such. I had hours to kill in between, so I looked up the closest golds and got my workout in. For a gym I’ve never been in, a bench that kinda sucked, no wrist wraps, or elbow sleeves, it went ok:
Flat bench
215x5
245x3
285x6
HS decline
115 ps x 12
135 ps x 12
160 ps x 8
HS incline
90 ps x 12
90 ps x 12
Fly machine
3 sets 12
Stretch/pump stuff
Interesting, this Gold’s is in DC near the Capitol. Was a few sets into my workout and I’m looking at a guy that looks like he’s either Maryland’s current governor or his identical twin. Looked at him a few times here and there and I was pretty sure it was him. I got outside and there’s a black hybrid suburban like they all seem to drive, guy in a suit in the driver’s seat. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I approached the passenger window slowly and deliberately so he didn’t think I was a sketch ball. The officer confirmed that it was indeed our governor. The unmarked, blacked-out crown vic on the other side of the street, several cars down would have only served for further confirmation had I not asked. Kind of cool, governor in there throwing weights around. He wasn’t smaller weak either from what saw.
Always neat to see your Governor. Was there anybody inside with him?
He was working out with a guy that appeared to be probably one of his staffers. I think he was a staffer because he did not have the normal short haircut, didn’t look like he was in particularly good shape, he looked pretty young, etc. For the most part, those on a protective detail are USUALLY in shape looking, close haircuts for the guys, serious-looking, and you’re not going to get on a detail like that right out of the academy. I would imagine one of the other guys in there working out by themselves would have been with them, keeping an eye on things from across the room.
Back
Pullups
10
8
8…these were tough! Haven’t done pullups in 2-3 weeks, huge drop.
HS high row
2pps x 10
3pps x 12
4pps x 8
4 + 25 x 8
Seated wide row
170 x 10
120 x 12
120 x 12
120 x 12
Facepulls
2 sets normal way
5-6 sets seated on the lat station pulling down to chin…not sure on this.
ok, here’s the tattoo that i got i think around the original start of this log, October '09 i think. i’ll briefly describe what you can see. you’ll see the grim reaper clutching a skull. he is riding a horse which you cant see, but his other hand is gripping the horse’s mane. the “rays” that shoot out of the grim reaper’s eyes run across many ghost/goul faces that are worked into the body of the horse. these are meant to be “dead souls” and such. flames come off the back of the reaper, and down closer to my elbow the flames get darker and sort of give the appearance that it rips through my skin. you can see buildings and such, it’s basically a city that the reaper is casting his destruction over. at the top are several bats flying over a full moon. due to the lighting of my bathroom, some of this is harder to see- im not as pale as this looks, and the ink is darker than it looks. it is the lighting. this is my third tattoo. at this point i plan on having half sleeves on both arms, back covered. depending on where things land job-wise, i may eventually be interested in going below the elbows.
Badass!
Thanks Trav.
Leg day, deads emphasis:
Nothing to report, felt like crap- didn’t feel like crap going in, but things just weren’t coming together as I was getting through warm up sets.
Went 365x3, 405x2, 455x1. My plan was 500x2-3, which may have been a long shot itself. Ahhhhhh who knows- no big deal. I’ve got some theories- 1) I haven’t deloaded for a bit now, and I’ve increased the frequency of my lifting, good recipe to stall/regress. 2) my iPod died as soon as I got in the fucking gym. I HATE HATE HATE hearing the dipshit pop music they play in my (and essentially all) commercial gyms. We’re talking britney spears, lady gaga bullshit. It shouldn’t affect me as much as it does, but fuck it, it zaps my concentration badly. Now, I usually push through and attempt my goal. Frustrated, I packed it up and went to the leg press. There were three plates on each side, did a set. It didn’t feel heavy, but I felt weak, fuck it, going to get on the treadmill for a few miles…1 mile later I’m gassed and feeling like crap.
Just a bad day in the gym for me.
Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m getting married June 11, closing in here. And the job I reeeeeally want gives me a decision on/about June 15. I think I’m more stressed/fatigued than I “feel”. No big deal, I will figure it out. It’s just very frustrating because I’ve been way stronger than I am currently. I understand this happens, but it’s still hard to accept. At some point my goals of 500/400/600 felt like I had to work to get there, but I WOULD get there. NOW I’d be thrilled to get a squat over 400 again, bench mid 3’s, and get my pulling back to where it was at 550 and slowly moving up.
I also struggle with doing as much running as I should be, and trying to get bigger and stronger. I know some can do both, but at this point I can’t. It’s just that simple. Not a matter of not wanting it, etc, but at this point it’s like my body is a machine that just WONT produce that, if that makes sense. I know SMART would be doing whatever it takes to get in academy shape, weights be damned. I did have the idea of canning deads for a bit and just doing rack pulls or something, maybe some cleans too- still keep a heavy bar in my hands, get explosive as well?
And finally, this IS frustrating, but I know I will be ok, and quite frankly there are bigger things in life to get upset about. The gym has been in my life for a while and will continue to be, just “going through it” right now in the gym department of my life.
Shoulders
Military press
Bar x 15
65 x 8
95 x 5
125 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 4…damn! Missed 5. Next time I go back down and get more reps
135 x 12
95 x 20
Db lateral raise
35 x 12
45 x 10
50 x 10
25 x 20
Lean-aways, 25 x 15
Rear delts on incline bench
25x30
25x30
25x20
25x10
No time for traps, busy day, only time to hit delts before gym closed.
Ran earlier today, and didn’t eat much today, so not a bad session. Kicking around some ideas to clean up my diet, shed some fat, get lighter for running, look better, etc, etc. Stay tuned.
Arms
BB curls
Bar x 15
65 x 12
75 x 10
85 x 10
95 x 10
105 x 8…cool. Will be curling a plate each side in maybe a couple months, prob cheat curls at first.
Close grip bench
135 x 12
185 x 10
225 x 6…just didn’t feel right. Done.
2 sets of weighted dips
90 x 10
90 x 10
E-z bar spider curls
Bar + 60 x fail! Tendonitis strikes again! Almost crippling today, couldn’t curl a 15lb db with the right arm! Sucks!
Messed around trying to feel it out, see if I could work around, wasn’t happening with neutral or regular grip for the curls!
Back to triceps…
One arm db skull crushers
30 x 12
35 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 10
One arm overhead db extensions
20 x 12, 4 sets
Liiiiiight reverse e-z bar curls
30 x 15, 4 sets
Liiiiight pump shit for triceps- one arm pushdowns
3 sets each?
Not the awesome pump I got last arm day, but I couldn’t do a lot once the tendonitis showed itself. Next time I think I will start triceps with skull crushers. My tricep work may be heavily built around skull crushers- single arm and regular, and pressdowns. Imnot exactly sure of the anatomy of this, but the barbell curls felt good, no problem with the bicep tendon there. Happened somewhere between that last set of cgbp, which felt way heavier than it should have, and the dips. Don’t know. For the record, junior year of college when I was about 212-215, 2006 this would have been, I recall definitely close gripping 315 x 4. And that was a very close grip, maybe 6, 8" tops between hands. Life goes on, but sometimes I can’t help but think about how strong and probably big I would be if things had stayed on track. Motorcycle accident took me out for a bit, lots of strength lost at that time. After that had to change goals/focus here and there, and even still in that situation. When I get where I’m trying to go career-wise and can relax a bit and just get big, not worry about a little chub, it IS on! For now, I hang in no man’s land walking my tight rope between goals, making minimal progress! Ha! It’s the journey I suppose.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
shirts Wendler gave me at the Philly seminar, and new book. [/quote]
Jelly
[quote]
Just a bad day in the gym for me.
Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m getting married June 11, closing in here. And the job I reeeeeally want gives me a decision on/about June 15. I think I’m more stressed/fatigued than I “feel”. No big deal, I will figure it out. It’s just very frustrating because I’ve been way stronger than I am currently. I understand this happens, but it’s still hard to accept. At some point my goals of 500/400/600 felt like I had to work to get there, but I WOULD get there. NOW I’d be thrilled to get a squat over 400 again, bench mid 3’s, and get my pulling back to where it was at 550 and slowly moving up.
I also struggle with doing as much running as I should be, and trying to get bigger and stronger. I know some can do both, but at this point I can’t. It’s just that simple. Not a matter of not wanting it, etc, but at this point it’s like my body is a machine that just WONT produce that, if that makes sense. I know SMART would be doing whatever it takes to get in academy shape, weights be damned. I did have the idea of canning deads for a bit and just doing rack pulls or something, maybe some cleans too- still keep a heavy bar in my hands, get explosive as well?
And finally, this IS frustrating, but I know I will be ok, and quite frankly there are bigger things in life to get upset about. The gym has been in my life for a while and will continue to be, just “going through it” right now in the gym department of my life. [/quote]
Have you had your hormones checked out? Just because you passed the medical, does not mean that your T is where it should be.
It is the journey, your journey. I think we get caught up in other people’s [apparent] quick progress and expect the same success. You’re about as strong as I am, but a good 30-40 lbs lighter. I don’t consider myself a slouch, you shouldn’t either. No it’s not ideal to chase several different goals at once, but it is possible. I’m trying to lose weight[fat], but in the mean time getting all time PR’s. I can’t explain it, but I’m going with it.
Dude- first off thanks for the encouragement. I do not consider you a slouch either, I think you’ve made a TON of progress over the past year or two. I’m not sure of your training history, but you went from looking like a guy that was just “bigger” in terms of body mass- not really looking like you lift, to definitely looking like you lift- either that or carry logs and and other heavy implements around all day (taking time of course to curl some logs on your lunch break). And your squat definitely blows mine out of the water, for the record.
I will keep working for sure. If I know nothing else, that is for sure. Even with the bad days, I love it too much to ever give it up. I’ve had bad days, great days, and I will have worse days and better days, but I’m in this as long as I’m physically able. There’s a guy I’ve seen in PowerliftingUSA, in his 70’s, pulling over 600 at 198. He may even be pulling around 700, freaking amazing. 70’s strong as hell and built like a brick shithouse.
Dude you’re fucking awesome, end of discussion
Trav- don’t know if you mean me or “TheDude” but if you mean me, thanks! If you meant him, I’m sure he appreciates as well