5/13: Extra
Shit end to the day so instead of losing my mind, wife and I got in 30 minute walk plus did some extra bicep work because why not.
We have a gorgeous, hilly park 1 block from us so we vowed to do more hill walking/running when we circle through on the way home. And we did. Money.
Gets the rage out quick.
5/14
Oops. Forgot to log.
Leg extension: rep it out x1 set
Leg complex: Bulgarian, free squat on wedges, deficit reverse lunge: x2 rounds
Landmine T handle press: ramp up to first and heaviest set, back off for one more
Medium grip paused bench: 2 sets, same pattern as above
Slight INCLINE dumbbell pullover: run the rack from 20’s to 70’s
*This is new to me and a very pleasant suprise…if you do it with strict form
Dumbbell upper back row: couple sets
Extra walk with the wife to total >60 minutes walking for the day.
Notes:
Knees are feeling good. Keep on keeping on and keep ego in check.
The incline dumbell pullover is off a recent Renaissance Periodization video. It’s a keeper variant.
Good stuff for an average day.
Have an Inbody at work coming up in a few minutes. Let’s see if I’ve defatted enough. Unlikely.
5/15
InBody at work: fatter than I thought (understanding there’s margin of error with these devices).
What IS cool: steadily gaining muscle while losing fat >30 years into the iron game. I remain on medically necessary TRT (100 mg total/week) so not blasting and cruising.
My visceral fat is well below the cutoff for concern and this is what I’ve been after. I’ve also severely delayed/slowed down this process due to multiple factors so no one to pick on but myself.
5/17: Not feeling it but doing it
Dragging ass. Slept in. Got some essential yard work done then the wife and our now all adult sons x2 went to a samurai armor exhibit at the local museum.
Lifting was uninspired but productive
Deficit strict barbell rows
Hammy curl with extra eccentric load (the wife pulling on the contraption)
Cable upright rows
Cable curl
PJR triceps
All done in either rest-pause or ramp to 1 heavy set then 1 back off. Just determined that by how the first set went.
Evening walk after dinner coming up.
5/19: Balls
I got nothing. Made it through incline presses and pullovers.
Top end weight was lower, joints didn’t feel good, zero pump. Handful of likely reasons for feeling like a dried up turd on a rough stretch of highway.
Pick it up next time.
5/21
I hit some PRs but lets just say I didn’t enjoy myself.
Cable upright rows
*this has become such a money movement for me. Tired or jacked, it feels good.
Medium grip bench
Leg extension followed by bodyweight Bulgarians
Deficit strict barbell row.
Oh yeah. Did biceps yesterday after I put tools away from another home project.
5/23: I’m outta here…
…for a week.
The latter stages were one day of just my wife and I getting a 300-lb pellet stove out of our basement. Just us. Got it up the storm door entrance with sapient ingenuity.
We loaded it into the bed of my pickup today. 3 of us (step-son).
Still a far different animal than 300 lbs on a barbell, but why even consider that there should be a comparison.
But damn.
It ALWAYS humbles me that even at my strongest like deadlifting 535 lbs at 165 or clean and jerking mid-300’s at the same weight…a 300 lb stove is a motherfucker!
And there are moments like that for every one of us. No matter how strong. You’re never strong enough. In all aspects of life.
5/31: Back from Idaho
8.5 hour drive back. After unloading the pickup, starting laundry, and letting the felines know we aren’t dead…
Hit the “essentials”: back, biceps, and shoulders. I mean, why train legs when I sat all day🙄
Barbell curl
Cable upright row
Low incline dumbbell row
Kept up the sessions at the parent’s place with a set of 25 lb Nuobells, a 20 lb kettlebell, and a chinup bar.
6/2
Nailed most of the important stuff after a day off doing masonry. Will detail thoughts later.
6/3
Need to jot this down to see if it makes sense. On paper and not just my chunk of anxiety meat.
My main areas I’m personally addressing most are: biceps, back, shoulders. I say “shoulders” not just “delts” specifically.
Bicep focus is hypertrophy because I’ve not trained biceps directly for almost my entire 33 years of lifting. And also: why not?
Back: my favorite and best developed area. My focus is actually maintenance with improvement. If that doesn’t sound too odd.
I’m very lat dominant so I’m using more rows and an elbow angle that engages more upper back, trap, rear delt.
But somewhat contradictory, I’m introducing wide grip pullups. I found on vacation that they hit some spots namely scapular muscles I’ve been missing.
The deep stretch and leading the movement with my scaps, very deliberately, has already helped mobilize that area.
Shoulders: this is mainly delts, yes, but also includes both cable and dumbell upright rows to get more of that "upper back/shoulders " idea. Work it all.
Now on to lower overall effort/time but still with focus…
I haven’t said “chest” or “quad” or any body parts in my training since I was 14-15.
So “chest” has always been “Horizontal press” or just “Upper Push”.
Horizontal pressing will continue but more trained as power/strength i.e. low reps, avoid failure, etc. Be powerful but not exhausted.
Quads/lower push/squat will be mostly Bulgarians and feeling out other movements. Need my sticks to be supple, powerful, healthy. Hypertrophy and absolute strength limits are not a priority.
Lower pull (deadlifts are my all time favorite)/hamstring/etc movements will vary. Swings, RDL, SLDL, rack pull, etc, etc and everything else in that department is fair game.
The “not so much focus” category is going to be good effort but low fatigue by design so I can push harder on the Main.
I’m still working on leaning out, admittedly slowly. Every InBody I’ve had spaced across the last year has shown: fat loss with muscle gain. Keeping in mind I’m likely getting some “newbie gains” out of my first year on TRT.
In a nutshell, what I was doing was fine but not addressing some diverse needs in the landscape (dumpster fire) of my body.
Lastly, fuck obsessing over "optimal frequency ". I’m sticking to 3 sessions per week. That works best right now. I’ll make it work based on desire, recovery rates, etc. Some shit may get 3 days and then maybe 1-2. Who knows?
My body usually tells me what is froggy and what is not.
6/4
Incline dumbbell curls
Cable laterals
Deficit strict barbell rows
Done for the day.
The lady had to miss our usual session so she wants me downstairs for her make up tomorrow. Hence, I’ll do "the other stuff " I deliberately skipped on the morrow. Going with the flow.
6/5
Went downstairs with the wife as promised.
Was almost going to bag my training and just help her out, stretch, or whatever. Once I got rolling…it was a damn good session
Low incline pullover: 10 lb jumps from 30 to 60. Really just mobility work.
Medium grip bench: 4 sets 3, same weight. Controlled eccentric, pause at the chest, explosive reversal. Far from failure.
Hammy curls: rest-pause baby! I’m cramping up here!
Bulgarians: started at 30 lb dumbbell on working side. 10 lb jumps to 70 lbs. Same style as the bench. Felt fucking fantastic!! This is exactly what I need and zero knee pain. Just pure money.
Done.
6/6: Its my Birfday…
Non training day but got in approx 4 miles of walking. Half with the wife.
She was commenting on her lack of walking this week and how much more tired, loggy she feels. Little intermittent reinforcement for both us to keep it up.
I had commented to her that many of my adult birthdays have been spent in self imposed isolation with a can of chili and a mid-range Irish whiskey bottle.
Today, work went surprisingly smooth, couple patients rescheduled, had good walks, son swung by to hang out. That was better than reflux and a hangover.
That’s called a change in perspective.
happy birthday
Happy Birthday.
Happy birthday
6/7
Thank you for the unexpected birthday wishes. Appreciated.
Cable upright: PR today. Good indicator.
T-bar rows: FINALLY bought a V handle with a notch specifically to fit a barbell. Smoked it!
Cable curls: biceps ready to stimulate but not annihilate so 3 standard sets, lower weight.
Extras:
Leg extension: one high rep set
Dumbbell SLDL: Pair of 80’s. Very focused deep stretch. Pause. No lock out.
And I bought a decent EZ curl bar for my birthday. Never owned one. Haven’t used one since high school. I’m strangely excited.
Happy day after your Birthday! Sorry I missed the real deal. I hope it was a great day!
6/9: Prequel
@QuadQueen Thank you!
I went and spent $$$ on myself per the wife and my mother who still sends me a check on my birthday. 44 years and counting. Mom’s are the best.
This is a T-Nation recommended ez curl bar. I’ve not touched one since high school! Dead serious. I needed this as much for my wife but who’s keeping track?
Oh.
6/9
Wide grip weighted pullup: my left scapular muscles are FUBAR. Need to do these every orher session.
EZ curl (close grip curl): oh my! What have I been missing?!
Oingy boingy press a la chaos press a la band suspended blah blah press:
-These were my delt building, shoulder/upper body mobility do-all for years. Behind the neck, snatch grip, very controlled eccentric. I need to keep these in the rotation!
JM press (with EZ bar): call Blakely. It may be a sin to use such a bar with his namesake.
Lame effort at incline dumbbell presses. I hate them. It’s over.
Hammy curls (while coaching the wife on barbell rows)
Done.
Hit 24 hours on a fast at workout time. My guts needed the reset, which really does work, after a birthday WEEKEND of eating like an asshole. On cake. And ice cream.
