This is true. No way to go but up.
Or up and over as the case may be.
2008-731
Stuff I didn’t do yesterday:
Pendlay rows (bench grip width)
235 3x3
Skull Crushers
aka Lying triceps extensions
135x3,3,6 (may still be too light)
Man the Pendlay rows done wide really nail my lats right up into my armpits. I think there’s some teres activity happening there too. These are doing an excellent job of building shoulder stability for benching and pressing.
Heading up the coast to Mendocino today for a different flavor of fog this weekend. Hoping I can find a gym that isn’t too far away, but I may be forced to drive to Fort Bragg to get some training in.
Walks on the beach, walks in the woods and a little financial planning. Fun times!
2008-8-1
W/U
DB Bench Press
50x10
75x10
100’sx4
Floor Press
235 4x3
Standing Overhead Press
155 4x3
Barbell Curl
125 4x3
Power clean from hang
155 4x3
Right arm DB preacher Curl
45 3x3
Here in Mendocino. Y’all should come out here if you come to Cali. Beaches, Redwoods, good food.
Walked on the beach, eating BIG today. Found an amazing facility here behind the Redwood Veil and had a great ttaining session. The weights were floating up.
We went and bought mass quantities of steaks and proceeded to cook and eat them. House we’re in overlooks the main cove where the river feeds into the ocean. Night is clear right now and the Milky Way is enormous. And there’s bats to take care of the mosquitos.
This is livin’.
I’m soooo jealous! We were in Mendocino a lifetime ago. We did a week-long horseback riding program that passed that way. I loved what little bit I saw, but we were too fatigued to take much of it in. All I wanted was a shower, a steak and a soft bed! I’d love to go back again some day. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Good liftin’!
Cappy
[quote]skidmark wrote:
Here in Mendocino. Y’all should come out here if you come to Cali. Beaches, Redwoods, good food.
Walked on the beach, eating BIG today. Found an amazing facility here behind the Redwood Veil and had a great ttaining session. The weights were floating up.
We went and bought mass quantities of steaks and proceeded to cook and eat them. House we’re in overlooks the main cove where the river feeds into the ocean. Night is clear right now and the Milky Way is enormous. And there’s bats to take care of the mosquitos.
This is livin’.[/quote]
Sounds great! Doing any wine tasting?
Nice session BTW
[quote]soldog wrote:
Sounds great! Doing any wine tasting?
Nice session BTW[/quote]
Thanks Soldog.
Unfortunately no. My wife and I don’t drink alcohol. I do love the smell of a freshly opened bottle of beer or wine though.
Back in the home fog now.
Didn’t get a leg workout in on Sat. or Sun. but chopped and stacked about a cord of wood at our friends’ house. They thought I was nuts when I asked if I might, but I really enjoyed it.
Looking forward to a lower body workout tomorrow. Going to join the gym down the street. Not the best equipment, but the location’s great.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
Thanks Soldog.
Unfortunately no. My wife and I don’t drink alcohol. I do love the smell of a freshly opened bottle of beer or wine though.[/quote]
You’re better off that way…
I’m glad you had a break!
[quote]Capacity wrote:
I’m soooo jealous! We were in Mendocino a lifetime ago. We did a week-long horseback riding program that passed that way. I loved what little bit I saw, but we were too fatigued to take much of it in. All I wanted was a shower, a steak and a soft bed! I’d love to go back again some day. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Good liftin’!
Cappy[/quote]
Thanks Cappy.
It’s worth a week’s layover if you get out that way again, for sure.
2008-8-4
Squats
135x10
225x5
275x3
325x3
335x3,3
325x3
Guess I’ll do 330 next time Serious chicken-wing happening on the last reps. Back to doing ab work too. Overhead stuff ain’t working them enough.
Deficit deadlift (2" deficit)
415 4x3
Last two sets I finally started pulling the bar in on liftoff and they were easier and smoother.
Pendlay Rows
235 4x3 (super easy)
Skull Crushers
95x5
115x5
140x3,4,3,5 (couldn’t make up my mind when I should stop…)
Leg Press (for fun)
200x20
400x15
490x5(paused)
600x5(paused)
630x5(paused - somewhat difficult)
Went to a commercial gym today. It’s kind of a dump, but I’m going to join. They have 100lb plates and the DBs go to 150. Skidmark like. Going to see if I can bring my Oly bar. None there are straight.
Skid, sounds like your trip was a blast. My wife is originally from CA and she talks about how lovely Northern CA is.
New session looks great! Any specific future plans?
I am going to a friends this weekend to help him chop some wood. I am actually really looking forward to it.
[quote]mday wrote:
Skid, sounds like your trip was a blast. My wife is originally from CA and she talks about how lovely Northern CA is.
New session looks great! Any specific future plans?
I am going to a friends this weekend to help him chop some wood. I am actually really looking forward to it.[/quote]
It was pretty fun, but like DZ I need a rest from my vacation once I got back.
I’m just going to work this Hepburn program for another cycle or two (1 or 2 more bumps in poundage) and then go to the Hepburn Singles program which is the same exercises but done for 4-10 singles around 90%-95% of max. The current program uses 80-85% of max. I’ve really been pushing it to stay in the 85% range, because, you know, more is better.
My logs are going to be pretty boring for folks to read as the exercises will not change and the weights will only go up incrementally. I’m hoping that by doing something really consistently and eating consistently rather going for the big lift, I can inch the poundages into numbers I didn’t think I could ever do. It’s already happening with the deadlift and I’m feeling strong in the squat and bench/floor press now though I still have some form issues. Another few cycles and I’ll be hitting some PRs every session.
I have to try and not freak myself out as I seem to have a throttle that cuts out whenever I feel I’m getting too successful.
Boring workouts are my specialty. Basic moves with as much weight as you can handle. Not confusing.
Skid-- good looking workouts-- nice squat and D/L numbers. I’m sorely lagging in the Skull Crusher department.
I know what you’re saying when you start getting into a groove. I was giddy that today was squat day. Thought about it last night and all morning. When I got to the gym, it was anti-climatic… 
I did a trip through N.CA when I was in grad school in NM. Drove up through CO, UT, ID, OR, WA, back down through OR, into CA (Shasta, Lassen, Tahoe), NV, AZ, and back into NM.
The funniest thing was coming into CA from OR. It was about 2am and they (Cali border control?) stopped me and asked me if I had any fruit… I know I had this puzzled look on my face and I reached down and showed her the banana I was eating… Duh…
Well - joined up at the gym down the street.
True to the spirit of the place the credit card machine was running out of ink, so I basically signed a nearly blank piece of paper with a line on it. Instead of 99 dollars they may have cleaned out my account LoL! I told them to put the receipt in a dark place so an hour’s sunlight exposure wouldn’t fade it into blankness.
My son wanted to join with me but the cutoff age is 14, but it’s a good sign that he’s interested in weight training as a worthwhile pursuit.
Gonna go down and work abs and grip when the wife gets home. I’m may have to figure a new chest exercise since there’re no power cages there to use for floor presses. I have an old foam roller I can cut into pieces for varied height manpon presses, but it may be best just to drop weight and do full range paused bench.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Skid-- good looking workouts-- nice squat and D/L numbers. I’m sorely lagging in the Skull Crusher department.
I know what you’re saying when you start getting into a groove. I was giddy that today was squat day. Thought about it last night and all morning. When I got to the gym, it was anti-climatic…
I did a trip through N.CA when I was in grad school in NM. Drove up through CO, UT, ID, OR, WA, back down through OR, into CA (Shasta, Lassen, Tahoe), NV, AZ, and back into NM.
The funniest thing was coming into CA from OR. It was about 2am and they (Cali border control?) stopped me and asked me if I had any fruit… I know I had this puzzled look on my face and I reached down and showed her the banana I was eating… Duh…
[/quote]
Thanks SteelyD.
Giddy for squats, haha. Me too the last few days. It’s a really good sign that I’ve recovered when I’m thinking about doing some of the big lifts with anticipation.
335 is actually a PR for me for reps. I’ve typically stalled out at 315. It has to be a mental thing since I’ve been there so many times before and got hurt or frankly, scared, by the amount of weight. Being on this forum and another has helped me overcome that - seeing the poundages others lift makes me realize that what is possible for others is possible for me as well.
I forgot about that border crossing at Oregon. Haven’t been across the border in 15 years.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
My logs are going to be pretty boring for folks to read as the exercises will not change and the weights will only go up incrementally.
[/quote]
I’m really disappointed. The rest of our logs are just so exciting and action packed. Try more graphic discriptions. “I spat on Newton’s Law, unbridled my fury, and with a Herculean effort and an explosion of raw power ripped the weight lose from it’s moorings to Mother Earth. Five times.”
Looking forward to seeing some PR’s.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
skidmark wrote:
My logs are going to be pretty boring for folks to read as the exercises will not change and the weights will only go up incrementally.
I’m really disappointed. The rest of our logs are just so exciting and action packed. Try more graphic discriptions. “I spat on Newton’s Law, unbridled my fury, and with a Herculean effort and an explosion of raw power ripped the weight lose from it’s moorings to Mother Earth. Five times.”
Looking forward to seeing some PR’s. [/quote]
Damn, Hel!
You’re a closet writer aren’t you? Sneakily penning soliloquies after sunset, hunched over your paper, stylus in hand, one eye nervously on your work, one ear pricked for approaching footsteps lest you be caught in your clandestine pursuit?
Can’t fool me. I hope you wash your hands afterwards.
I know my log wasn’t that interesting to begin with, anyway… But it certainly becomes more so once you make an entry.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Boring workouts are my specialty. Basic moves with as much weight as you can handle. Not confusing.[/quote]
And the most likely to be successful, I’m beginning to think.