It doesn’t help me any that one of my coworkers is instructor certified for both helo and fixed wing, and he keeps egging me on to do it lol. But, he is from Alaska, dad is a bush pilot, they have their own planes, so it’s not like the two of us have anything close to a similar situation going on there ya know?
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Agreed. Alaska is a whole different world of aviation.
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Do cigars get better with age?
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Honestly, not sure. Maybe to a point, but some of these things are probably past the point of “aged” to “old” lol
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Yes and no, you can buy properly aged cigars, and also cigars benefit from resting in a humidor (getting the relative humidity to 70%), they can be stored in a good humidor for a fair while, and premium cigars do age well, but give it too long and they start to lose essential oils and flavour over time.
2 Likes
12Jul25:
Agile:
PVC dislocations
PVC windmills
PVC nunchucks
PVC t spine over bench
Weight squat holds
Lunge stretch
Powerful:
Power cleans: 95x2, 95x2, 135x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 175x1, 185x1, 195x0, 195x0
Strong:
Low handle Trap bar deadlift: 165x5, 255x3, 345x3
405x5
405x5
405x6 +13 second hold on last rep
CGBP: 200x5, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5,
12 BPA in between bench sets
Built:
Single arm DB row: 115x14, 115x11
DB 20 incline bench: 70x12, 70x11
Superset:
Db Side bend: 55x20, 55x20
Lat raise: 25x15, 25x11
Conditioned:
EMOM: 12 minutes
Min 1: 12 cal row
Min 2: 6 burpees
Min 3: 100 jump rope
Min 4: 15 35lb American kb swings
And repeat
Notes:
- power cleans felt pretty decent today. Took some videos for form critique. Think I’m taking the “power” part a bit too literally, catching these too upright, feet aren’t really moving out. Also terrible at rotating my arms under the bar, you can see me struggle on the later sets. Still, early sets had a lot of “pop” so that’s good.
- Deads felt good. Last set my grip was off, bar tipping forward way to much, had to adjust after the 3rd rep, which ultimately lead to me hitting an extra rep because I lost count lol.
- I think my CGBP may legitimately be as strong as my regular bench. Hell, maybe stronger. Wonder if it’s the torn labrum not liking any sort of width. On one hand, I should be happy my close grip isn’t bad. On the other, wtf why does bench hate me lol.
- By the time I get to the hypertrophy work, I’m pretty well cooked lol. It’s a lot of strength and power stuff before hand. Helps that I’m keeping hypertrophy stuff short and sweet on these full body days.
- On that note, I’m 100% sure lots of people would critique me for hours on my db row form. That being said, I can feel my Lats squeeze like hell when I do it, and my back gets completely pumped from it, so I have zero intention to change it. Mainly saying these so people don’t get the wrong idea about my db row strength lol
- This EMOM kicked my ass. In honesty, plan was 16 minutes, but i went to grab some water after my last set of kb swings, realized i was out, and said screw this im not doing more without something to drink. Went through about 2.5 liters during this workout, and still thirsty as hell. Just sweating bullets.
11 Likes
Let me know how these are…I’m in the market for a pair of lifters and I honestly can’t believe the prices. But I am leaning towards TYR as I have wide feet. Have just been using metcons for awhile for everything.
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I’ve only used them for 2 workouts, so I’m not an expert by any means.
BUT, I do really like them. The shoes feel solid. They are wide, and heavy. Just a teeny bit clunky really, but not in a bad way. I would NOT want to use these things for any sort of Metcon work, they just are too damn solid for that. But when I lift, I feel more secure on the ground than in my old Adipowers. And as a guy with some wide feet, it is noticeable how much more I can spread out my toes and “tripod” the stance on my squats.
FWIW, I got these things on a big sale. Seems like Tyr does those every so often, may be worthwhile waiting for one of those to show up, because I also can’t believe the price of most lifting shoes, but they were a bit more manageable with the sale
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14Jul25:
Agile:
Butterfly
Lunge
PVC dislocations
PVC nunchucks
Dead hang
Powerful:
Hang clean: 95x3, 115x2, 125x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2
Strong:
Hi bar squat:
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
Built:
RDL: 225x12, 225x10
Cable crunch: 70x15, 70x13
Supermans: bw x a lot
Notes:
- hang cleans felt pretty decent
- Happy with squats. High bar feeling better and better, wonder how it will feel when I actually put some weight on. Still doesn’t feel as strong as low bar, but definitely feels snappier.
- Really digging more and more into RDLs, and liking it
- But, it is hotter than hell in my garage, and after cleans, squats, and RDLs, I’m accepting my tank is empty. Hit some core and called it a day
14 Likes
16Jul25:
Agile:
- dead hang
- Butterfly
- Child’s pose
Powerful:
- single leg hops x20
- 2x10 yards A skips
- 2x10 yards B skips
- 2x20 yards jump skips
- 3x10 yards sprint starts
Strong:
Bench: 210x5, 210x5, 210x5, 210x5, 210x5
Superset with 13 BPA
Pendlay Row: 165x5, 165x5, 165x5, 165x10
Built:
DB Fly: 30x15, 30x15
Lat pulldown: 175x12, 175x10
Overhead extension: 65x20, 65x15
Notes:
- idk why, but bench felt great. Really great. Strongest it has in a long while.
- Pendlays feeling good.
- Built work felt good, still noticing some happy changes in terms of upper back and shoulders recently. Looking solid.
9 Likes
17Jul25:
Agile:
Dead hang
PVC dislocations
PVC nunchucks
PVC Tspine
Butterfly
Lunge
Angle stretch
Powerful:
Tall oceans: 95x3, 95x3, 95x3
Hang Power Clean: 145x2, 145x2, 145x2, 145x2, 145x2, 145x2
Strong:
Front squat: 145x3, 165x3, 185x3, 200x3, 200x3, 200x3
Superset:
Press: 95x5, 125x5, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5
NG chin: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4
Built:
Dips: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
GHD: nope
Reverse crunch: 10, 8
Face pull: 65x13, 65x11
Z curls: 15x25, 15sx25
Notes:
- tweaked my right knee somehow yesterday, hurts to bend. Kind of a pinching pain on the inside of the knee. Squats felt fine, but tried to do a GHR and that was NOT happening lol. Holding it’s just a minor annoyance that goes away in a few days
- Cleans beginning to feel better. Getting some “pop” on it.
- I think I have a unique talent for doing front squats with low bar movement patterns lol. I’ll be damned if I can maintain an upright torso.
- Press moved well, but getting heavy
- Chins felt good. Had a hint of elbow pain, gonna start some rehab high rep curls to try and prevent that tendonitis that hit me so hard two years ago.
11 Likes
19Jul25:
Agile:
30 minutes dedicated T spine work
Powerful:
Full cleans: 95x2, 125x2, 135x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2, 155x2
Strong:
Clean pulls: 225x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3
CGBP: 205x5, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5
12 BPA between sets
Built:
Db row: 115x15, 115x13
20 db inc press: 70x13, 70x12
Db side bend: 60x20, 60x20
Conditioned:
- didn’t do anything. Forgot to mention, I’ve got some sort of cold or something that has my just dripping snot lol. Not a flu or anything, but enough that I’m not doing conditioning until it passes, which is also why I haven’t done any since Tuesday.
Notes:
- I can definitely still power clean more than full clean, which is upsetting.
- Posted some videos on a dedicated weightlifting forum. Getting some good critiques. One I think is super valuable. A ton of guys have mentioned that I have ATROCIOUS thoracic mobility. Which honestly, tracks. I’ve gone to the doc twice complaining about back pain in that area, I have to crack my back all the time, it’s a pretty constant source of annoyance. Started on the ship, think it had something to do with trying to fit in the ship’s racks to sleep.
- So, I am about to be a little spastic about mobility. Wife’s gone for another month until her army training is over, I think I may dedicate a solid hour or so in the evenings to just overwhelmingly address t spine mobility. Other stuff too, but god this actually explains a lot. Why my front squats are so rounded, my issues staying upright on high bar, press losing all power that bottom inch. I’ve always looked at these issues in terms of “what do I need to make stronger”, but someone said to me “you have a surplus of strength, but your mobility limitations aren’t letting you express it” and honestly that made more sense about how I’ve felt in the gym than anything else.
- Cleans pulls were new to me. I like em. Honestly, while the feelings different, gives off speed deadlift vibes. I don’t really have a ton of “heavy” lower body stuff rn. It’s more of frequent submax work. When I do go heavier on lower, it’s mainly on accessory stuff like RDL.
- I guess “heavier” is relative here. That felt fairly heavy on clean pulls. But it’s a faster movement, there’s no grind to it, so it’s heavy for the speed of the lift? If that makes any sense.
- Also, hook grip freaking hurts lol
- I’m debating a little bit how much I want to get into OLY lifting. As in, I think for my ATHLETIC goals, I could get all the benefits I’m looking to get out of just learning how to do a good power and full clean from the floor and hang position. BUT, while watching a lot of videos to learn, I do have to admit a lot of this looks pretty fun. Snatches and jerks seem cool. I don’t think they would really offer any athletic development I couldn’t get from cleans (maybe some with the jerk), but they do seem fun to do. So part of me would like to learn them just for that aspect. But, that is a time commitment, and actually training them would make it a bit harder to keep with the “college S&C” theme I’m trying to go for with my strength training.
- CGBP felt great. There’s a good chance it may surpass regular bench, but honestly that’s fine as long as I get one of them strong lol.
11 Likes
Oh, update on the oly gym.
Never heard back from em. Figure I should just call. But, at this point it’s a 3 month intro to weightlifting. The Mrs gets back in one month. We lift together. Sort of just makes sense to wait for her to get back and then we could both do it together, so that’s the new plan.
In completely unrelated news.
Went skeet shooting today. This is the second time I have ever gone. First time was last week, where I made it through about half around before it started lightning and we had to stop.
Going with my best friend, actually my college roommate. He just got stationed out here, and he is a BIG TIME skeet shooter and bird hunter. I’d like to get into it so we could do some hunting trips together.
I was TERRIBLE at skeet shooting. That second round, after all his coaching, I still only clipped 6 birds. Now I am new, I didn’t expect to be great or anything. But i grew up shooting, I’m active duty for christs sake, this was just embarrassing.
Well, I was shooting with my shotgun. A 1953 Remington Wingmaster 870 16 gauge with a full choke. My father got it as a kid, gave it to me when I was a kid, and I fully plan to give it to my son. Or daughter. Whichever really, but some hypothetical future offspring of mine is taking this thing lol.
But, my friend was telling me that this is apparently not the ideal skeet shooting gun. I wouldn’t know, I’ve literally never done anything but deer or turkey with it. He had a second 12 gauge with a skeet choke that he offered me, but I was being stubborn because I like my gun. Well, after 2 rounds it embarrassment, he called me a stubborn ass and made me use the 12 gauge.
I went 21 for 25. Literally hit more birds that one round than in the previous 2.5 lol.
So good news is, I’m not an absolutely terrible shot when I’m actually using the right gun for skeet shooting. Bad news is, now I gotta talk the wife into letting me get a new shotgun lol.
Update since starting the post; wife is getting me a shotgun for my birthday, this went much easier than expected haha
10 Likes
What are you getting her? lol
1 Like
Honestly, probably Lego’s hahaha. She has a bit of a collection, so if I can find some rare set she has her eyes on, I’m normally good to go.
Otherwise, she’s impossible to shop for lol. Doesn’t like flowers, jewelry, purses. At points, I’ve seriously considered buying a damn puppy simply because I knew it would be a hit hahaha
5 Likes
Well, if you make it a hunting dog and this could be a win for both of you considering the new gun. lol
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Funny enough, the same friend I went shooting with is getting a German Wirehaired Pointer in a few weeks, we are dog sitting in September. Well as my friends wife and mine were searching for puppies (my college roommate married my wife’s college roommate, we actually met at the rehearsal dinner for their wedding) my wife started hinting that our dog had to be lonely while we were at work and might need a brother…
She wants another Bernese though. I love the big oaf, but he doesn’t have two brain cells to rub together haha. I’d be more open to a Lab
2 Likes
22Jul25
Agile:
Dead hang
T spine on bench
Hollywoods
Butterfly
Lunge
Squat hold
Powerful:
Power cleans: 165x2 for 6 sets
Strong:
Hi bar squat: 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x3, 240x5
RDL: 235x12, 235x9
Bulgarian SS: 53x12, 53x12
Cable crunch: 75x15, 75x15
Notes:
- cleans felt good. Finally learning to catch a bit lower (as in, not catching in a legit full standing position)
- Used a soft belt for the squats. I like my leather belt for low bar, but when I use it on hi bar, I find I want to shift the weight to my hips. The softer belt lets me sit a bit more upright. I still hate hi bar, but by god I’m going to keep hammering this until I get decent at it.
- RDLs felt good.
- You know, one of the few areas I do feel disadvantaged win with a home gym is quads. Upper body? I don’t think there is anything I can’t scorch 10 different ways. Glutes, hams, the same. But quads? What have I got? Squats? Way more hips than quads for me. Lunges? Some more quad, but still a lot of hams. That isolation of a hack squat, leg press, leg extension, any one of em would go a long way for me.
In other news, after months of back and forth, Mrs and I finally decided to just send it and do Kilimanjaro for the honeymoon. Reached out to a travel company yesterday, starting to plan the trip… which means I’m about to become a rucking maniac lol
13 Likes
Great call on doing Kilimanjaro! I did it in January 2023 and it was one of the most amazing experience of my life.
I prepared by doing some multiple days hike and doing cardio like running, stairs, walking, rucking. Spend time on your legs. Spend time outside.
For strength, I did 531. Strength training for mountaineering is GPP but legs, core, back and shoulders/traps are still important. Even arms if you hike with poles. But seeing your numbers, you are more than strong enough.
One thing I would do if I would do it again is train my stomach. Altitude fucks with your digestion. I would train it by eating before, during and/or right after some cardio activities. I would eat often when my heart rate is elevated. RHR over 4000 meters was around 90 bpm for me.
You can see details of my experience here.
When are you planning to do it?
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Oh this is so cool. Busy day, owe you a longer response tomorrow, but thanks for the tips and i am definitely going to read all about your experience!
Looking late Dec early Jan time frame
1 Like