I would have like to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation. Those carries seem like a good bit of work.
It looks like a ton of outside work, great job. Now enjoy dinner, you earned it!
Heh, heh, Wiex, it’s crazy. My current trainer is a young guy finishing up school, so he’s easy to intimidate. Really wish I had the balls to bitch at the other 2 guys. One’s my former trainer who’s a nationally ranked lifter, the other Matt Wenning who owns the place. Matt’s a cool guy, but has driven me to failure about every time he trains me. The other guy is a real caricature, strong all his life, always winning contests, cocky, mocking everyone else, bragging about his accomplishments, owns guns, pitbulls. He always trains me to failure, beyond failure, then walks away and doesn’t even watch me.
Hi Jack! The carries were fun. Easy weight, but fantastic conditioning.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
The other guy is a real caricature, strong all his life, always winning contests, cocky, mocking everyone else, bragging about his accomplishments, owns guns, pitbulls. He always trains me to failure, beyond failure, then walks away and doesn’t even watch me.
[/quote]
Sounds like he’s a Westside kinda guy! 
Actually, Late, I believe he said he never went to Westside. Matt has, of course. But I’m sure he would be right at home there.
Upper body. Determined not to hit failure today. Funny thing . . . that actually seemed to make things go better.
OH press - he’s fussy on technique. Chest up, elbows up, head back, then look forward when weight gets up. Quite a bit to remember, but it seems to work.
bar x 12
65 x 8 blech, getting pain from elbow, thought all that was cleared up. It’s distracting me.
70 x 6 he points out my wrists are bending, try to keep straight
70 x 4 getting better
70 x 6 was only supposed to do 4, but felt so good I knocked out another couple. Still no failure
70 x 0 - failure?? no, bad technique, left arm is just weaker and needs more oomph
70 x 4 yeah
Stretching, working out elbow problems. He decides floor bench to protect elbows.
30 lb DBs x 15 ho hum
40 x 8
40 x 8 shoulders are feeling the burn
Cable tri pressdowns
70 x 15 “that was easy” - should never say that to these guys
100 x 10 concentrate . . . pause between reps . . . surprised I got that many
Seated rows - we don’t have a seated row, so take cable machine & pull out until reach foam blocks, it works
got 8 reps, I think, but both elbows hurt. He advises twisting elbows out to side
8 more reps, hmm, seems to work
I was a good boy, so he let me go home early.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
You can be allergic to hypers.
I am allergic to the following: lunges, any exercise related to abs, and all cardio.
I know you are perpetually frustrated. But I enjoy reading your log! You are a good writer.[/quote]
Snap, I didn’t catch that the first time. So do you start hacking when you do anything that hits the midsection? [/quote]
Oh. I was just kidding Cav. I don’t like doing those things so I say I am allergic to them.
Fist bump for hard work!
Thanks for the support, Snap. Just curious, because if you saw me hack my lungs out after a brutal set, you’d think there was some kind of allergy involved.
Gorgeous day. 72 (that’s Fahrenheit for you non-yanks) and sunny. Start with sled pull. Three plates, four trips down the block and back. Mush!
Squats. That’s right - SQUATS. No hip belt, no box, no safety bar - just plain, bland, vanilla squats. Bar on monolift, that’s it. And I was just thinking “Won’t these people EVER let me do a normal squat?” Empty bar. Ten reps. Down and up, down and up. Oww . . . shoulders don’t like that. Will they ever get flexible? And then the criticism: “You’re hunching over like it’s a Good Morning. Get your hips back! Chest up! Elbows down! Down farther!”
“Uh . . . I thought I was?”
Another 10 reps. MAYBE a little better. Have I forgotten? “Arch back! Chest up!”
65 x 8 maybe better
65 x 8 concentrate! concentrate!!!
75 x 8 this is getting embarrassing
75 x 8 a bit better?
95 x 8 “lower! lower!!”
95 x 8 wearing me out
105 x 5 finally it clicks - I got it. maybe I was finally get some weight on my shoulders
We stop there. Didn’t even get to 135. Boo.
Hip thrusts. 40 lb DB. Do kinky moves for 45 secs. Careful . . . don’t want to hit failure . . . came close, I paused between reps, made it
Another set. 45 lbs. Do for 45 secs.
Reverse hypers. Getting better at this. 70 lbs on bar. 10 reps, no prob. Pretty sure kept legs straight. Looked easy, so he slaps another 10 on. Another 10 reps.
Leg curls. He sets at 7 plates. I start - CRRNNNNCCCCCHHHH GGGRRRRRNNNNNDDDDDD GOD, what is that racket??? I’ve whipping them up, don’t want to stop. 12 reps. Trainer fusses with machine. “Did you hear that noise?” “What, that noise 2 inches from my ear?” Try again. Now no noise, smooth as silk, up and down, up and down. Dreamy.
We leave it at that. Light weight, good volume. Hope it packs on some muscle.
Upper body today. We don’t have a log, so next best thing. Football bar on floor. Clean, press overhead. Press a dozen times, easy.
Add 20 lbs. Ten reps.
Again. Ten reps.
He adds 10 more lbs. Reminds me arch back and everything falls into place. Push head forward when lock arms at top. Eight reps.
Rest. Another eight. Getting a bit hard - damn, left arm is weaker, it wants to fold up.
I don’t want to hit failure, so I’m pausing between reps, gulping air.
He adds 5 more lbs. This is what, 75 or 85 total? I get six up. Put a little leg into it, not much.
Rest. Another six. Pause, breath, push. Pause, breath, push. Make it.
Incline DB press. Start with 35 lbs. Couple reps, he says put down, clearly too much.
30 x 10 tough, left arm needed spotting
25 x 10 good
25 x 10
Face pulls with thick rope cable machine (they loves them some thick rope). Three sets. Crouch slightly, arch back like crazy.
Tri pulldowns, also with thick rope.
Lat pulldowns. Thick bar. Three sets. He has me do pretty wide grip.
Feel good.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
…
Reminds me arch back and everything falls into place.
…
Feel good.
[/quote]
Glad to hear he is doing his job & you are feeling good.
Thanks, Techno.
Sled pulls, 3 plates, 3 trips down the block and back. Getting better at these.
OK, trainer thinks I’m ready for some deadlifts. It’s been a few weeks . . . let’s see. I spread legs sumo, and . . .
135 x 8 pretty good
185 x 6 he tells me spread feet a little wider
205 x 6 he’s telling me “Sit DOWN! Chest UP! Pull BACK!” I try it, but just doesn’t seem to work
225 x 0 I’m frustrated. Every time I sit down further and stay straight, the bar just bolts to the floor.
He takes plates off and talks. I’m doing sumo mostly because I just want to get my long legs out of the way, but he says I need to do it right. Key: really keep back arched. I try it.
185 x 3 OK
205 x 3 alright, get it
215 x 2 he says “That looks easy, you can do more than 225!”
225 x 3 arch, arch back, keep everything tight, it works.
Rest a bit, then outside. Lovely day. He’s got the small tire sitting outside. He takes the 50 lb keg down the block. My mission, should I choose to accept it: flip tire down block, carry keg back.
Tire is easier than before, I’m just tossing it. No problem. Down block, and lungs are pumping. Pick up keg, job back. Oh wow, that wore me out. Rest. Then take keg down block and flip tire back. Doesn’t seem hard . . . but when get back, lungs are on fire. Feels like someone sitting on chest. (It’s not pleasant.)
Rest. Hyperventilate. Rest. Gulp water. Then he tells me to do lunges down the block and bring keg back. “Lunges? Uh - can’t I do the tire instead?” I hate lunges. I’m off. Off balance, stuttering, making it, whatever. Lungs are Red Alert at the end. Then carry the keg back. OHMAYGOD I CAN’T BREATHE gasp gasp gasp gasp gasp
Couple sets of leg curls and done.
Cav- nice recovery on the Sumo’s!!! if I did that workout, or more accurately tried too I’d be at the morgue right now…under the sheet
Thanks, Goat, glad I pushed through that. I’ll go through these killer workouts because I’m so determined to build some strength.
Trainer is at wedding today. Don’t care for other trainer, so I’m on my own today. Will do upper body as instructed - light weights, high reps for building up. Weird . . . this is the first time in almost a year I’ve trained by myself. Not pleasant . . . it’s almost like solitary confinement.
DB OH press
20 x 12
25 x 8 ugh, pretty tough
20 x 12
20 x 14
20 x 12
20 x 12
I do NOT like using low weights, make me feel really weak. Not off to a good start.
CG bench
65 x 12 rats, thought this would be warmup, not a work set
65 x 12
65 x 10 getting frustrated
65 x 12
65 x 15
75 x 12 gotta get some weight going
85 x 8 well, whatever
Face pulls, thick rope cable machine. Couple of sets, they go well.
Band pulls. I like these - just grab a band and pull. Simple. Found a medium band that I could pull pretty well. Two or three sets of 15.
DB arm curls. Hey, it’s my workout and I’ll do what I want to.
20 x 8
20 x 8
DB shrugs
40 x 10
40 x 10
Hey, the grip machine’s just sitting there.
90 x 10
90 x 8
Doesn’t look like much, but after getting home & eating, had to nap for 2 hours, so worn out. Then that night slept for 10 hours.
As I mentioned, I’m training at Matt Wenning’s place. Matt was training everyone else with squats, pistols holding two 75 lb kettlebells, and crunches. Crunches holding the 100 lb strongman’s stone to the chest. Try that if you’re bored. I mentioned to Matt I had read an article he’d written for Powerlifting USA about benching. Something about how he and everyone else gained 40-50 lbs on bench in 3 months flat. Now these guys have been training me for almost a year and my bench has just budged 10 or 20 lbs the whole time. I said “I sure could use some of that training!”
So he compares our arms and points out mine is 4 inches longer than his. (His arm is about 2 or 3 times thicker, for the record.) He says I’m built for deadlift, not bench. Well, yeah, I know I’m not going to bench 1000 lbs, but that’s not the problem. Problem is I can’t even bench 200. Surely there’s room for improvement. Anyway, he’s walked off by this point.
Matt’s a nice guy, but sometimes I get really frustrated by experts. People keep telling me over and over that gains are easy, hard work always pays off, just do this or that and the strength just blows up. But everytime I try to nail someone down on how to do that for me, the excuses start coming on why it just wouldn’t work.
Sometimes its better to do it on your own if the other people suck. I’m sure he is nice & all and I don’t have a clue about who he is but how long has he been training people? Maybe he has not come across all different types and doesn’t know how to tweak what he needs to. Or maybe he doesn’t have enough interest to go outside of the box when he needs to. I don’t know, I’m only guessing here and from my experience with “experts”.
Matt Wenning is a world class powerlifter, he’s set a couple world records at one point. He and the people working for him have been training others for some years now. Exception is the guy currently training me, he’s finishing up his degree in exercise science and is fairly new at training. But he’s training me much the same way as the others. All these people have degrees in exercise science.
My point is, if someone writes articles about miracle growth routines, then I expect to get something like that. If I can’t - what’s wrong?
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Matt Wenning is a world class powerlifter, he’s set a couple world records at one point. He and the people working for him have been training others for some years now. Exception is the guy currently training me, he’s finishing up his degree in exercise science and is fairly new at training. But he’s training me much the same way as the others. All these people have degrees in exercise science.
My point is, if someone writes articles about miracle growth routines, then I expect to get something like that. If I can’t - what’s wrong? [/quote]
Cav, I’ve read your posts for awhile and I have no doubt you put the effort in. At some point I’d look at possible medical issues like low T levels or some other hormone imbalance if you are not getting the results that should follow from the hard work, assuming that you are getting adequate calories and macro nutrients, etc. My good friend that I used to train with busted his ass in the gym and got very poor results for several years until he finally had his T-levels checked. Since he’s been on HRT, he’s lost about 30 lbs. of fat and his lifts are way up. I hope I haven’t overstepped my bounds, but I really want to see you rewarded for all your hard work.
Jack
Thanks, Jack. It’s always been a life-long dream of mine to be a strongman and I can’t give up now.
I think I’m getting enough food, definitely pounding down the protein. Gotta be careful about calories, much easier to gain blubber than muscle. And I don’t get strong when I get fat.
I haven’t had health insurance for a while, only a few jobs I’ve had offered it, and money is generally tight. Fortunately, ACA is kicking in and I’ll be signing up shortly. I’ve had hormones checked and docs didn’t seem worried - of course, if you’re standing up, they think nothing’s wrong. Very possible something out of whack. Will ask at the gym about doctors - I know one guy on TRT.
Update: I slept very well after the workout. Apparently not pushing to failure agreed with me. Also, went grocery shopping today, was really surprised how light it felt. Did last week’s deadlift do me that much good? Will keep you posted . . .
I know the health insurance deal, I’m self employed and it sucks. I hope you can find good insurance and a Doc who might help. I know my buddy’s T levels were at the very low end of “normal” and he had to really press the issue to get some help because technically he was “healthy”. Just going from low-normal to mid-normal was like a miracle for him, however, not just in the gym but life in general.
Glad you are feeling good after a workout. You work harder than anyone you deserve success.
Thanks, Jack, when I get the next set of tests, will make them give me the numbers, not just “You’re OK”.
Corrmhona, thanks. Pretty good to sleep soundly.
Found a dime on the gym floor today and trainer let me keep it. Who says lifting doesn’t pay off?
Squats. Trainer really getting on me to keep chest up, butt back, elbows down.
45 x 10 he hates me
65 x 8 tells me to stop doing Good Mornings, I swear I’m doing it right
75 x 5 keep elbows down, a little better
95 x 5 maybe a couple reps OK
95 x 5 push knees out, stay tight, go deeper, deeper, deeper, what part of deeper don’t you understand?
105 x 5 the weight is starting to make me stay tight
115 x 5
135 x 5 says I’m getting better
145 x 5
145 x 5 didn’t think we’d do so many - he gives me some reluctant praise
Stiff leg deads w two 35 lb kettlebells - three sets of 12
Hip thrusts
50 x 8 (the support fell back)
50 x 15
50 x 15
Decline crunches. He hands me a 18 lb ball. “Too light” I say. “We’re doing 45 secs” he replies. Two sets.
Done. Bit of stretching on the overhead bar. Curious, I try chin ups. I barely get one. Jesus, when do I get some upper body strength?
Bleah. Totally trashed by Tuesday’s workout. DOMS everywhere, hamstrings, upper back, etc. Weird pains in joints, here, there, whatever. So depressed I stopped by the ice cream shop and had the richest confection they sold. Bad idea - mild sugar rush, but joints really started hurting that night.
OH pressing with football bar. Maybe, MAYBE, getting a sliver of strength here.
bar x 10
65 lbs (2 10lb bumper plates) x 8
75 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
90 x 3
90 x 3
100 x 2 - tried for 3, first two went up nicely, but third slammed to a halt, racked it
He says my form was good - elbows up, arch back, stand underneath.
Incline DB press. Trainer hands me 30 pounders and tells me 10 reps. I get 8 before they pin me down and I had to drop them.
25 x 10
25 x 10
Tate presses (or whatever they’re called. Someone help me out - what are Tate presses?)
20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 10
Seated rows, three sets
Tri pressdowns. First set easy, just ram it down. Second a bit tougher, got it all. Third, BAM things ram to a halt halfway through.
I mention training to failure. He says I gotta do that occasionally to gain. I’m not so sure - have done a lot of it and didn’t grow. I’m getting a phobia of failure, at the first hint I drop the weight. Don’t want to ruin any gains.
Face pulls. Three sets. Easy.
At least I don’t feel all busted up today.