Up and at 'em. Another pretty sleepless night which wasn’t great. Will probably take a melatonin at 8 tonight and see what happens. Normal PWO routine.
Bench
45 x 5
90 x 5
120 x 5
150 x 3
180 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 8
Assistance
SS w/ Bench
DB Row - 105 lbs - 3 x 10 per side
Side plank - 3 x 10 deep breaths per side
No SS
Plate raise - 25 lbs - 1 x 25
Taking the maltodextrin out of my post workout shake to see if it helps with bloating. Also thinking that reducing calories by 240 on at least 5 days a week will help me tighten up the ol’ bloat belly a bit. I felt decent but a little winded while lifting today. Gonna add in 30 min walks in the afternoons and see if that helps. When I start my next 5/3/1 cycle I’ll try and run twice a week and weight vest walk twice a week. Assistance went fine and rows really felt like I needed them.
Up and feeling back to normal today. Slept well and ate intelligently yesterday. Morning weight was 206.8 lbs, which is 7.2 lbs down from this weekend. Normal PWO routine.
Squat
45 x 5
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 1
420 x 3 - PR
Assistance - SS w/ Squat
Ab wheel - 3 x 5
Run:
2 x 400m
I felt good and my lift showed it. 420 x 3 is a lifetime PR - there was a little grind on reps 2 and 3 because I fell forward a little, but I had the strength to save it. Squat TM for next cycle will be 395 lbs. Run was fun but sucked. EASING my way into this.
My cat woke me up with a Tazmanian Devil-style outburst at about 4:30 this morning. I felt pretty good so I just got up and got moving. Normal PWO routine.
Squat
45 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 5
215 x 3
255 x 5
285 x 5
335 x 5
255 x 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/ squat
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
DB seated press - 40 lbs - 5 x 10
Pull Up - 2 x 5
BB Curl - 45 lbs - 4 x 10
I feel good today, the work didn’t beat me up but it wore me out - more muscular fatigue than connective tissue/joint fatigue. Assistance was just about perfect difficulty-wise, so happy with that. Walking with the wife or sprinting alone later, not sure which one.
Up and at 'em at 5:10 this morning. I feel pretty sore and beat up from all of yesterday’s volume. Post-piss weight: 205.4 lbs. This is despite having a pretty boozy, junky weekend. I can probably eat just a touch more throughout the week and fuck up a little less over the weekends in the future. I wasn’t about to be a teetotaler for America’s birthday. Anyway, normal PWO routine.
Bench
45 x 5
90 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 3
165 x 5
190 x 5
215 x 5
165 - 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/ bench
Chest-supported DB row - 40 lbs - 5 x 10
1 legged squats - 5 x 10 reps per side
No SS
Plate raise - 25 lbs - 4 x 15
I didn’t feel very awake or recovered today, but pushed through and the session went well. I’m gonna need to eat a liiiittle more if I want to recover better. I already notice a slight difference in hardness in my upper body with the better food choices, though. Nothing significant, but my hyper-awareness makes me pick up on small changes.
It’s helpful in certain situations, but maaaaan does it contribute to anxiety. I pick up on slight variations in peoples’ vocal tones and word selection and over-analyze every possible reason why. Getting older, I can ignore it better, but I still pick up on it and have to consciously avoid diving down that rabbit hole.
Finally trying to get back on my horse with a band and found one 10 minutes from my house that plays 70’s and 80’s metal. Exactly what I wanna play, older guys that are in it for fun and aren’t into hard drugs. Full audition Sunday but they asked me to submit a tape ahead of time. Pretty fucking excited
@flappinit there’s no looping or shredding involved outside of my poor technique shredding my vocal cords
@garagerocker13 awesome vid man, you have a great voice. Digging the tight vibrato too, which isn’t normally my thing. The little bit of rasp on the high notes when you’re belting is badass too. Good job man they’d be crazy not to make you an addition to the band!!
Thanks a lot man! I’ve spent a lot of time hating my voice and am finally mature enough to try to fix it rather than just bitching and cringing. My biggest struggle is singing without my sinuses closed off. Not sure what made me get in the habit of totally closing them off, but I sound like Nelson Muntz from the Simpsons when I do it. Also, forcing that much air solely through your larynx causes a whole lotta stress and damage so I’m trying to build up some staying power with better technique.
I walked 9 holes of golf yesterday and it was miserable as hell. And I feel really beat up today - my ass checks are ablaze from the 1-legged squats Tuesday. Normal PWO routine.
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 5
270 x 3
315 x 3
360 x 1
405 x 1
450 x 1
315 - 5 x 5
Assistance
SS w/ Deadlift
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
Incline DB bench - 40 lbs - 5 x 15
No SS
Bent over lateral raises - 12 lbs - 4 x 15
I was gassed by the end of this, and the 450 deadlift felt like shit because I didn’t get my hips low enough to start. Mentally, it wasn’t there today, but I still did what I needed to do. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.
Up and at 'em. Slept like shit and am feeling like shit. Noticing a pattern lately. Normal PWO routine.
Press
45 x 5
50 x 5
65 x 5
80 x 3
95 x 5
110 x 5
125 x 5
95 - 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/ Press
Pull up/Chin up - 8, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
1-leg squats - 5 x 10 reps/side with bodyweight
No SS
Dips - 5 x 15
These training sessions are kicking my ass. I just feel exhausted, despite using really conservative training maxes. Not sure if I need to really dial back the intensity of the assistance or what, but we’ll figure it out. I also can’t tell if the sleep is contributing to training being rough or if training being rough is contributing to the sleep issues. Oh well, trudged on.
Audition yesterday kicked ass. I had my good voice with me and destroyed The Trooper and Metal Health. But, the old singer texted the guitar players begging to get back into the band. The guitarists’ wives made the decision since the old singer’s wife was part of their group. Ya win some, ya get Yoko Ono’d some
I had some beers at the band audition yesterday and then a few more when I got home. Little groggy and my guts are grumbly today, but I went for it. Got the Nutricost pre-workout from Amazon and the extra caffeine helped a lot. Normal PWO routine otherwise.
Squat
45 x 5
155 x 5
195 x 5
235 x 3
275 x 5
310 x 5
350 x 5
275 - 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/ squat
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
Seated DB press - 35 lbs - 5 x 10
No SS
BB Curl - 45 lbs - 5 x 10
I got through the workout pretty quick today despite not feeling great. Assistance felt good and I backed off the intensity just a touch to still have some focus on the main work. Good idea. I did need to lay on my back with my feet up to unlock my back during the supplemental work, but it helped and I feel good. I can tell I’m locking form in a bit better with the 5 x 5 @ FSL. Also, physically seeing some improvement in fat storage, so all in all, things are moving.
Up and moving. I finally slept well for once. For some reason a little nauseous, maybe Chipotle last night. Weighed in at 207.5 lbs which is the wrong direction. Could be water, but I could be better about nutrition. Normal PWO routine.
Bench
45 x 5
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 3
175 x 5
200 x 5
225 x 5
175 - 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/ Bench
Chest supported DB row - 35 lbs - 5 x 15
1-legged squat - 5 x 10 reps/side
No SS
Single DB full-range front raise (fake plate raise) - 25 lbs - 5 x 15
I felt good today and feel like I have my assistance weights/intensity nailed down for this session. Shoulders are violently pumped, as are legs, which is nice. Hoping my knees are a little less cranky. My foot placement is still suspect at best and I need to thoroughly work on it. I think that when my feet are even I feel uneven, which isn’t good.
Walked 9 holes of golf yesterday with about 25 pounds of clubs and water on my back. My foot lift was fucked up and the layers were coming apart, which fucked my gait up in conjunction with my heel not staying in the cup of my shoes. So I walked it uneven and seemed to do OK. Little bit of soreness in my back and I’m about to deadlift so we’ll see if it affects anything.
Theory on my lopsidedness: walking around for 25 years with a short right leg has led to rightward pelvic drift. Then right knee collapses outward, shifting all my weight to my left leg (I could almost pick up my right foot at the top of a 315 lb deadlift today). Now, to fix it…
Finally slept. Normal PWO routine. Back slightly sore from walking yesterday.
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 5
270 x 3
315 x 3
360 x 1
405 x 1
450 x 1
315 x 5 - conventional
315 x 5 - sumo
315 x 5 - conventional
315 x 5 - RDL
275 x 5 - RDL
Assistance - SS w/ deadlift
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
Push up - 5 x 15
No SS
DB Rear lateral raise - 10 lbs - 5 x 15
Overall, I felt OK until I started doing deadlift reps. I got really lopsided and couldn’t piece together how to fix it until my workout was over. My back hurts. Assistance went well, still having trouble getting my rear delts to hang on through the longer sets, so I think I need them.
