Awesome work JDM! Great effort, and this
Was well earned! Time to smash a lot of food!
Maybe this time next year you can repeat that session, with 315!
3 Likes
Absolutely brutal, I love it
3 Likes
As expected, the soreness has been off the charts.
Keep moving though. Saturday i did more on the flooring project, had a quick beach trip, and - best of all - we had a family play/train session at a nearby park.
My wife is going to run the spartan race with me! We’ll do the 10k. Mid-August.
She runs a lot (3 miles per day) and did several pullups at the park - without having trained pullups for a year - so she’s going to love it.
At the park, we did pullups, rows, stepups/jumps, climbs, crawls… and the kids love training too! There are hills we can sprint here. I’m looking forward to 2024 training.
10 Likes
12/18/2023 Monday
No squats today. Soreness all weekend was debilitating, well-deserved, and a good reminder that I accomplished something I wouldn’t have thought I could do just a few weeks previously.
Lower back feel a bit like broken glass, so today was upper body:
3 rounds of:
-10 HLR
-10 TRX rows
-10 pushups
3 rounds of:
-10 strict press 65lb
-4 pullups
Bench Press
-Embarrassing. Loaded 135 and it was harder than it has ever been, did a few sets. It’s beginning to show that I don’t train bench. But I think that’s OK.
Seated rows: a variety of movements here. Including a straight-arm “scap row” fairly heavy.
Biceps and triceps machines. Actually put some effort into these, feels good.
7 Likes
This is epic, the real beauty here though is the word “thought” the ability was there, just a limiting belief, smashed it and on doing so showed your thoughts who’s boss, looking forward to the next crippling challenge for you!
1 Like
Thanks Alex.
Indeed, it was a limiting belief.
On the subject of “next crippling challenge”, I now have something to shoot for (the Spartan obstacle course race in August) so not as much need to manufacture arbitrary difficult objectives, and more of a need to improve conditioning, hill running specifically, monkey-bar/climbing ability, and endurance.
But with August 8 months away, there may be time for something else that sucks beforehand…
1 Like
12/20/2023
Squats.
Warmed up until doing 3x225, then worked up to 275 for 4 singles.
A few weeks ago I failed an attempt at 275 so I’ve definitely gotten back in the game there.
Incline DB press, some shoulder stuff, a set of 10 pullups, IDK what else - nothing of significance.
7 Likes
12/22/2023 Friday
Today’s session was done at a park in my neighborhood. It has a jungle-gym which provides a lot of ad-hoc training opportunities. The family and I have been using it a lot lately, and i’m banking training ideas. Today’s session wasn’t too exotic:
-Short downhill run to jungle-gym
-3 or 4 rounds: 10 pushups, 5 pullups, 10 step-ups per side
-5 six-foot muscle-ups (bar is 6’ so I can launch from my legs a bit)
-3x10 inverted rows
-2x5 one-arm inverted rows (lots of potential with these)
-A couple bad attempts at dips on the playground equipment
-Couple slaloms through parking lot bollards
-4 hill sprints
-Short but very uphill run back to the house
Came back feeling great, drenched in sweat, whole thing took about 30-35 minutes I’d guess. When it comes time to train for Spartan I’ll use this park and ramp it up.
9 Likes
Great to see the squat moving up after rep-o-mania and some fun in the park.
How’s the shoulder holding up?
1 Like
Shoulder is better but i think monkey bars might be a real problem.
My press is super weak too now, but i can do the movement without pain, so improvement is possible.
2 Likes
I’m in the same boat with these.
1 Like
Elaborate?
For me its the right shoulder, when all the weight is on that arm and i swing forward to grab a bar with my left.
I think, if i keep my elbows bent, i can shift it to a non-damaged part of the shoulder. But bent elbows aren’t conducive to monkey bar success or elbow health lol.
Will keep experimenting.
Pretty much the same. Hanging with two arms is fine. Hanging single arm starts to hurt. Letting that single arm travel backwards behind my head while I swing forward hurts even more. I haven’t tried it for a few months but that was my experience.
And mostly the right shoulder, which could have more issues because I’m right handed and usually have it forward on the trackpad most of the day when working.
I think some of the mobility is getting better with my recent behind the neck pressing but I haven’t actually tried it.
(barbell and dumbbell; if you press a dumbbell as if it’s a behind the neck press, keeping the hand elbow and forearm pulled back, especially at the bottom, it becomes more of a back exercise)
1 Like
Brilliant. This refined description of how the pain occurs matches my situation and i couldn’t have expressed it as clearly.
However my pain was way worse a couple months ago. So im going to hope its on the right track and keep at it.
How’s parenting going @LoRez?
1 Like
12/26/2023
Weekend update:
Saturday did a fair bit of paddling.
Sunday we took the kayak out and I paddled decently hard for hours. Wasn’t strenuous, but just to say it wasn’t a lazy weekend.
Monday was a great Christmas, no attempt at training.
This morning, took a run down the hill and back. About 1.8 miles, but the grade is incredibly steep. You’re riding the brakes the whole way down, then just grinding the whole way up. I need to time this run, and improve on it, as part of Spartan race prep.
Not sure what I’ll be doing in the gym tomorrow or the next several sessions.
4 Likes
12/27/2023 Wednesday
(Yesterday update: The whole family walked down to the neighborhood park. I did TONS of pullups, various monkey-like things on bars and the slide, inverted rows with the baby on my chest, a pullup with a 7-yo wrapped around me… lots of fun.)
Figured I’d change it up and try bodybuilding today. Unsure of what the plan for 2024 is right now, but to be fair, BB is something I’ve literally never tried - it’s ALWAYS been a focus on the big compounds, or weighted pullups, or olympic lifts, or something I could be proud of (or not) and easily measure. Today is just one day, not indicative of a new trend or anything:
Generally 1 light warmup set, then 2 sets of 10-15 for everything.
Barbell rows, 135lb. 12 reps each I think.
Chinups (underhand grip), 10 reps each set.
DB Lateral raises.
DB Biceps curls. (Note: simultaneous on first set, alternating on second set. I like alternating better, each arm gets a micro-rest every rep so you can DO more.)
EZ bar overhead triceps extensions. 40lb, 50lb.
Leg extensions, 3x15, don’t recall the weight but it was awful.
Full of thoughts, introspection, doubts - there’s a lot going on in my mind right now, and training is not central to it.
3 Likes
If you really want to give BB a go then one day is only the first step on a fairly long road. Getting the most put of your BB training will be no different to anything else, in that it will take discipline (especially in the kitchen), effort and time.
I would look at finding a BB program that you like and go all in 100% for a while. @davemccright is doing a great job of this right now. @TrainForPain is also full of good ideas to make you arms grow.
I know how this scan feel and at times like this I find having a program laid out to follow is even more helpful.
6 Likes
@simo74 thanks mate. Very aware that a single BB workout isn’t indicative of what BB is actually like, and today’s session doesn’t represent a commitment to BB at all.
I’m at a crossroads in a number of areas. In training, and other parts of life, what are my goals? Are they worthy goals? Are the sacrifices being made in the name of any goals, worth the sacrifice?
For example, someone suggested to me a set of goals that included (but was not limited to) a 315 bench and a 500lb deadlift. Very reasonable goals for a big strong man. But I worked for years to get a 225 bench and a 400lb deadlift. (My body opposes me at every turn, but I forced it.) I know what it took to get there. And I can estimate what it would take to get to 315/500, and am not at all certain that that’s a worthy use of my time, effort, passion, groceries, bandwidth, joint health, etc.
Yet it begs the question, what is?
Every choice we make comes at the cost of the alternative choice.
Go to work? Forego an opportunity to hang with wife.
Do vehicle maintenance? Forego an opportunity to (fill in blank. Beach or something.)
Sleep? Forego many other things.
Stay awake? Forego the benefits of sleep. Etc.
Bench 315? Forego… much.
Deadlift 500? Forego… much.
8 Likes
Totally understand this thought process and maybe its a case of looking at it both long term and short term.
A 500lbs deadlift might be something you hit in 10 years from now. It will always be there as a future destination but the road that leads you there will taker you down many different paths.
A good 12 week bodybuilding program may fit exactly what you need right now. Challenge yourself in the gym in a different way, learn some mind muscle connection, make you really think about your food and clean things up, which helps heaps after as you become a food encyclopedia. You’ll grow some muscle, learn something about yourself. These types of programs can be fit into 3 or 4 - 60 mins sessions, so the gym time isn’t too long. The only down side will be the muscle pain which may impact on other areas of your life, but I am sure you can deal with that.
6 Likes
Thanks for the tag @simo74!
@jdm135, let me know if I can be useful in any way. One quick note: I don’t think a good bodybuilding program ignores compound lifts or progressions; it just takes a different approach. I have hit ok lifts doing Meadows’ programs, and it has made me feel less crappy than when I was really chasing those lifts.
5 Likes