Thursday 10/1
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
1x315
1x315
6x1x345
3x315 (dead-stop reps)
That’s right, I did a set of deadlifts with more than one rep! Not bad. I am thinking that I may tweak my deadlift programming to include 2 days per week: one that works up to a couple of heavy singles approaching my 405-pound goal, the other working up to 1 AMRAP set with 315.
Bench Press
5x135
5x145
5x155
5x165
3x3x225
Pull-ups
1x10
Friday 10/2
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
1x315
1x315
1x335
1x335
1x335
1x335
1x365
1x365
1x335
1x335
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
Pull-ups
5x5
A notable, slightly humorous, slightly annoying story from the gym today. On my fifth or sixth heavy single (I think before I even went up to 365), a guy shouted at me from across the gym to “control your weights” and, when I merely answered “Sure, OK” yelled again “No, seriously man!” as though I hadn’t taken his comment seriously enough. A couple of things annoyed me about this:
(Not that there’s anything wrong with the above behavior, BTW. I have no qualms with intense and loud lifting. I just think it’s funny that I am about as far as possible from the loud/intense/angry lifter that usually draws the ire of pencil-necked please-don’t-drop-the-weights guys)
Instead of walking over and asking me nicely, the guy yelled at me from 35 feet across the gym. If you really think I am out of line, fine. Come over and tell me and I’ll politely agree or disagree, but at least we can talk. But just yelling across the gym “Hey, can you control your weights please?!” is a total douche move.
I understand this sort of hardcore-gym-etiquette stance if I had actually been dropping the weights or slamming things. But here’s the real kicker. I really, truly wasn’t doing anything out of line. I do single deadlifts partly because I do like keeping each rep clean, solid, and under control. I don’t let the weights just DROP to the floor. Sure, I don’t make a special effort for a SLOW descent, but I do keep a nice grip on the bar and return the weight to the floor, instead of just DROPPING it.
Oh, and also…it’s not like anyone around me was threatened by my behavior. There was no one else even standing in my corner of the gym. If you’re dropping 95-pound dumbbells in a crowded dumbbell rack, that makes sense to hold people to a strict standard. But again, there was no one within 15-20 feet of me. Someone was using the Smith machine like two racks over, and maybe someone else was on an exercise bike 20 feet behind where I was standing, but it’s not like people were just milling around. I had the space entirely to myself. The gym wasn’t crowded, there were like 5 people in the whole gym.
Ultimately, it’s no big deal. I just said “Sure” and tried to keep it a touch more under control on the descent for the rest of the workout. But it’s been awhile since anything like this happened, and while most of us have probably encountered this kind of thing before, felt like venting it a bit here. It was pretty close to the pinnacle of “don’t-let-anyone-in-the-gym-work-hard” douchebaggery.
Fortunately, I don’t expect that I’ll encounter this guy often. I usually work out before 8 AM, but today I went around 10 because I’m off work (driving to Michigan in a few minutes), so if that’s his usual time (which it must be, I’ve never seen him before today) we probably will not be there at the same time too frequently.
A very very similar experience was the catalyst for me starting my home gym. I have to laugh at the irony of someone yelling at you for making too much noise, for in doing so they also contributed to an increased noise level at the gym.
You handled it well, but it is absolutely frustrating. It’s fun to play out all sorts of revenge scenarios in your head or think about all the brilliant zingers you could sling, but one day you grow up and realize that it’s much easier to just say “Ok” and then keep doing what you were doing anyway.
I get a little shit from time-to-time, but never from anyone who deadlifts. I just politely ask if they can show me how to set the weight down quietly. Nobody’s ever managed to demonstrate that. It really isn’t possible with the equipment and surfaces we have to work with.
I believe that the best revenge is simply continuing to lift heavy and letting them know you do not give a flying fuck about their bitching. With any luck you’ll be able to disrupt this tool’s workout again when you hit 405!
People who are bothered by the sounds of hard work at a gym are just like people who build their house next to a farm and complain of animal smells.
[quote]OTHSteve wrote:
When you start having a healthy respect, or even a little bit of fear, for the weight you’re getting under, boredom is no longer an issue…[/quote]
Little bit late on this, but on a similar subject, I find the cycles where I can’t believe I’m going to be able to complete are always the most effective and the most enjoyable.
In other news, and the reason I came to this thread, one of my new conditioning approaches is:
1-Go to AG’s log
2-Pick a kB workout
3-Try that
4-Realise I’m nowhere near AG’s level at kettlebells
5-Scale down and complete
Was working perfectly until Activities Guy stopped doing so much kB work.
Hey guys - a lot of good comments here that I want to address at some point. I am typing on my phone for the weekend so I will get to them on Monday. Today’s workout…
Saturday 10/3
Log Clean-N-Press
10x3x145
Flow Yoga Class
In Michigan with my fiancée - she taught a yoga class at the gym at 10 AM, so I went over to the gym at 9:30 and did a nice little workout of clean and presses with the Strongman log, then went over and did my fiancée’s yoga class.
Heading out to watch the Central Michigan football game now. Have a good weekend y’all.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
In Michigan with my fiancée - he taught a yoga class [/quote]
I knew it. 
No seriously, happy to see such an eclectic log.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
In Michigan with my fianc�?�©e - he taught a yoga class [/quote]
I knew it.
No seriously, happy to see such an eclectic log.
[/quote]
Lol, whoops. I fixed it.
Will make some comments on dagill’s post about KB work and the guys talking about my deadlift / gym etiquette post in.a few days when I am back on a computer.
Sunday 10/4
Log Clean-N-Press
10x1x145
1x155
1x165
1x155
20x1x145
1x6x145
All work with the Strongman log at my fiancee’s gym this morning before I drive back to Pittsburgh.
So, getting back to a few things…
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
A very very similar experience was the catalyst for me starting my home gym. I have to laugh at the irony of someone yelling at you for making too much noise, for in doing so they also contributed to an increased noise level at the gym.
You handled it well, but it is absolutely frustrating. It’s fun to play out all sorts of revenge scenarios in your head or think about all the brilliant zingers you could sling, but one day you grow up and realize that it’s much easier to just say “Ok” and then keep doing what you were doing anyway.[/quote]
Exactly. It’s fun to imagine clever zingers (especially something like twojarslave’s recommended “I am happy to set this weight down gently, if you can demonstrate how I should do so”) but really the best thing to do is just say “OK, I’ll try” and keep lifting. I may comment to one of the gym’s trainers who I have seen around a few times by now, just a quick “Hey, I see that you’re usually training clients in the morning when I am deadlifting heavy. Just checking, do you consider my behavior disruptive?” - at least then I will have some confirmation from the gym trainer that what I am doing is perfectly acceptable. Because, as I said, I’m not exactly snorting ammonia caps, blasting chalk in the air and slapping the other gym tenants. I would be damn near invisible if not for the occasional CLANG when I set down the bar.
Re: the home gym, that is an eventuality for me, just a year or two away. My fiancee and I will be looking to purchase a home once we are settled on a destination city (I work in Pittsburgh and that is the heavy favorite, but if she gets a fabulous chance to sing somewhere it could be elsewhere), and once we find a suitable place, I will probably be done with public gyms for good. I have my assortment of kettlebells, and my father has an extra Olympic bar and some nice Olympic plates that we can split up (he still lifts, but doesn’t need all of the weights any more as he stays mostly under 100 kilos / 225 pounds for everything now).
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I get a little shit from time-to-time, but never from anyone who deadlifts. I just politely ask if they can show me how to set the weight down quietly. Nobody’s ever managed to demonstrate that. It really isn’t possible with the equipment and surfaces we have to work with.
I believe that the best revenge is simply continuing to lift heavy and letting them know you do not give a flying fuck about their bitching. With any luck you’ll be able to disrupt this tool’s workout again when you hit 405!
People who are bothered by the sounds of hard work at a gym are just like people who build their house next to a farm and complain of animal smells.
[/quote]
I very much agree with the first part - I have never been given any shit by someone who actually deadlifts. It is always the aesthetics guy who just finished a set of triceps kickbacks that complains about this kind of stuff.
As for the second paragraph, I agree but want to make sure that I tread carefully. I do not care TOO much what people think about me, but I would prefer not to get in any trouble with the gym, because the place is very convenient and perfect for the time being until the above home-gym scenario comes together in the next few years.
Like I said, I could give a shit what people think about me, but it just aggrieves me a little bit to be accused of doing something wrong merely for working hard when, as I said, I think I am pretty much a model “tenant” of the gym.
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
In other news, and the reason I came to this thread, one of my new conditioning approaches is:
1-Go to AG’s log
2-Pick a kB workout
3-Try that
4-Realise I’m nowhere near AG’s level at kettlebells
5-Scale down and complete
Was working perfectly until Activities Guy stopped doing so much kB work.[/quote]
Ha! Sorry for letting you down. I am still doing the kB thing as my morning workout when the gym is impossible due to an extra-early wake-up for work. One quick-and-brutal workout is just 10 swings EMOM for 15 minutes with the heaviest kB you have. Another really good one is 10 swings / 1 goblet squat / 20 swings / 2 goblet squats / etc…until you can no longer complete the prescribed reps. Finally, snatches are always good. I haven’t done kB snatches for awhile, maybe I’ll do them one day this week.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
No seriously, happy to see such an eclectic log.
[/quote]
Thanks man. It’s been a fun journey “back in” to the lifting world over the past 2 years after a couple years of running, then biking, then doing yoga, then doing some of each. All of that was fun - and I really am glad that I experienced each of those activities. Makes me feel very well-rounded.
I finally feel like I have found a pretty good groove after some…well, funny stuff if you look through my first log and this one, haha. My goals and exercises kept on changing for the first couple of months after I started lifting again. However, I do believe that the combination of 405 deadlift plus the RKC snatch test (100x53) seems like a really good baseline to build as a minimum of good strength and conditioning, and I have found a loose template that I very much enjoy.
One thing I have learned through this is that, for whatever reason, heavy low-rep work appeals to me more than the sort of high-rep work necessary for true “hypertrophy” training. I have a much easier time getting mentally prepared to go do a handful of heavy deadlifts and some pull-ups afterwards.
Monday 10/5
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
12x1x315
Pull-ups
1x10
Was rather drained on waking this AM, so I kept it pretty easy today.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
As for the second paragraph, I agree but want to make sure that I tread carefully. I do not care TOO much what people think about me, but I would prefer not to get in any trouble with the gym, because the place is very convenient and perfect for the time being until the above home-gym scenario comes together in the next few years.
Like I said, I could give a shit what people think about me, but it just aggrieves me a little bit to be accused of doing something wrong merely for working hard when, as I said, I think I am pretty much a model “tenant” of the gym.
[/quote]
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you be a dick about it. My gym allows deadlifting and it seems that yours does too. I’m simply suggesting that you do not, in any way at all, defer to someone who has a problem with perfectly normal gym behavior.
The comments I get are invariably from guys who train like bros. I don’t really think the noise bothers them, I think the sight of someone training harder than them does. These are all guys who claim to train legs, but I’ve never witnessed them doing so besides some very occasional quarter squats and somewhat more occasional machine work. That’s fine by me, I don’t critique their lifting style, nor do I let their warnings about back health or noise or ominous predictions of squat tragedies shape my approach to lifting.
At the end of the day, if your gym allows deadlifting and this tool has a problem with the sounds made by deadlifting then your deadlifting is most definitely not the problem. His reaction to your deadlifting is, and that is his problem, not yours.
Tuesday 10/6
UPPER BODY BRO-TRAINING DAY!
(My lower back was a little tender on waking, and I realized that I hit it pretty hard with 4 straight days of either deadlifts OR log clean and presses, so I decided I could afford a vanity day)
A1. Bench Press 5 x 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195 / 3 x 205, 215, 225
A2. Lat Pulldown 6-8 x 115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115
Probably could have squeezed out 5’s for the last few bench sets, but I wanted to keep the reps fairly clean and crisp (and also didn’t want to tweak anything else with my back already a little tender) so I dropped to good solid paused triples. Nothing groundbreaking here, but a little bench-and-lats day every so often isn’t going to hurt anything.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
I am thinking that I may tweak my deadlift programming to include 2 days per week: one that works up to a couple of heavy singles approaching my 405-pound goal, the other working up to 1 AMRAP set with 315.[/quote]
Just read this - Pavel Tsatsouline, when training his dad for a deadlifting competition had him do two workouts a week - one where he’d slowly increase the weights and decrease the reps & volume, i.e. typical powerlifting peaking, and one where he’d always do 225 for 5x5. The speed of the 225 sets served as an indicator and the volume helped building the necessary muscle tissue.
Wednesday 10/7
KB Clean-N-Press Ladder
2x53
4x53
6x53
8x53
10x53
12x53
14x53
12x53
10x53
10x53
2x53
(total of 90 reps in 15 minutes)
Original intent was to go from 2x53 up to 20x53, but after the set of 14 I realized that 16-plus was probably not going to happen this morning, so I returned back to sets of 12, 10, 10 and then did a final 2 reps as my timer expired.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
I am thinking that I may tweak my deadlift programming to include 2 days per week: one that works up to a couple of heavy singles approaching my 405-pound goal, the other working up to 1 AMRAP set with 315.[/quote]
Just read this - Pavel Tsatsouline, when training his dad for a deadlifting competition had him do two workouts a week - one where he’d slowly increase the weights and decrease the reps & volume, i.e. typical powerlifting peaking, and one where he’d always do 225 for 5x5. The speed of the 225 sets served as an indicator and the volume helped building the necessary muscle tissue.
[/quote]
Bingo. Good to know that my thought process is sensible enough that it jibes with Pavel’s thinking. I did a bunch of singles in the first few weeks trying to grease the groove a little, but I think something like this would be ideal for me.
Thursday 10/8
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
1x315
1x315
1x335
1x335
1x365
1x365
1x385 (recent PR)
1x385 (recent PR)
Pull-ups
5x5
Hyperextensions
2x10
Should have been doing some hypers all along. Will definitely add these at the end of all deadlift workouts moving forward.
Very happy with the successful 385 pull today, but also noting that this is approaching a true max (I had to grind this one out much more than the recent 375 and 365 pulls in the last few weeks). Think it’s probably time to add a little more volume with weights in the 315-335 range, as described above.
So I’ve been mulling this over and I think I will adopt the following loose template, with some flexibility to accommodate early meetings and weekend travel.
Monday: Light Deadlift (thorough warmup with 225-275 plus 1 AMRAP set x 315)
Tuesday: Upper-Body Bro Day (Bench Press & Lat Pulldowns)
Wednesday: Conditioning - KB Swings (15 x 10 x 88)
Thursday: Heavy Deadlift (up to daily 1RM)
Friday: 100 Pull-ups
Saturday/Sunday will be a mixed bag because I travel at least one weekend a month, sometimes two or three times. Whenever I am in town, I’ll do a hot yoga class; if I am traveling, it will be either a kettlebell workout or maybe a hotel-fitness-room session with dumbbells.
Wednesday is usually the day that I have to be in the office extra-early, so that’s going to be my at-home kettlebell day. Most of the other weekdays I should have plenty of time to go to the gym in the morning and still make it home for work.
Friday 10/9
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 3 x 225
Saturday 10/10
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 2 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 3 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 4 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 3 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 2 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
Bench Press 1 x 225
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups
5 Pull-ups