George, I better not be wiped out today…its deadlift day later! It was actually three climbs: one 2000 footer and an out and back over a 1000+ footer to get to the big-assed climb.
Betty, there was one stop for lunch, but I dropped that time out of the total of the 5 hours we were out.
Last night’s dinner was cider basted salmon with sweet potato fries and a delicious bread pudding for dessert. My sister made belgian waffles for breakfast this AM, so I am plenty carbed up for the gym later.
good god 4 hour ride :{ wow!
“Yesterday’s training was a 4 hour 20 min ride with 4576 feet of climbing.”
awesome determination you got there. Keep it up!
wow. for somebody who loves cake that much, you sure have a rockin’ body.
I must agree with you, kimba - “…with big doses of exercise and weights, and one eye on the scale. Everything is a compromise”
Um a bit late but I really thought the bench video was great. Yea everyone already told ya about the elbows the other thing I would suggest is to pull the shoulders back and try to have them flat on the bench. I always imagine that I am trying to push the bench away from the bar - although the bar is all that moves(hopefully).
Another way to put it would be like this, stand up put your shoulders back and imagine you are trying to squeeze someones hand with your shoulder blades. That is close to the position you should have when you are benching.
Btw from the looks of the video it looks like you are already doing it to some degree, just start to think and practice it some when you are benching maybe with some lighter weights. Okay sorry to ramble on and I hope that it made some kind of random sense… if not sorry, feel free to ignore it 
The bike ride sounds great. The dinner sounds devine. We’re thawing salmon for tomorrow’s dinner. It’s given me inspiration for a low sodium night before a meet dinner for BB.
Also, I don’t know why so many people hate on bread pudding. It’s delicious. I’ve made it with thick sliced cinnamon raisin bread.
sounds like your sister likes to cook!
good food, nice weather. what, me jealous?
Brute, it was fun! In a painful sort of way.
Natalie, I do love cake. But I don’t often eat it. I’m on vacation this week and I’ve had five days of eating freedom so far. The scale reflects this, as does the fit of my favorite jeans. Today the free feed gets shut down and its back to normal eating. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m ready.
n8tive, thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to help! I noticed while benching yesterday that I’m in the situation of having so many new things to think about that I can really only focus and process one or maybe two things at a time. The shoulder visualization is helpful, and I know I need to to better with that.
O, this vacation I have discovered a deep love for bread pudding. Making it with cinnamon raisin bread sounds really, really delicious to me.
N., don’t be too jealous…its raining here today. We’ll have fun anyway!
Yesterday’s training was deadlift day, and I love deadlift day. I definitely noticed that good vacation sleep and a days-long carb up helped me feel stronger in the gym.
5/3/1 - Wave 11, Week 2 - Sumo Deadlift and MP Day
Sumo Deadlift
all from floor:
95# 1 x 5
115# 1 x 5
135# 1 x 3 <–working
150# 1 x 3 <–working
165# 1 x 4 <–money set, rep PR +1, no belt and form looked good
135# 3 x 10
Military Press
45# 1 x 3
55# 1 x 3
60# 1 x 4 <–money set, at least I got my reps in.
Bench Press, experimenting with pinkies on rings
Bar 1 x 5
65# 1 x 5
75# 1 x 3
So many new things to think about! My head was spinning. I think I remembered to place the bar more towards the heel of my hand, but I forgot completely about tucking my elbows. This grip felt really wide to me. It didn’t feel like an immediate magic bullet for more strength, but its intriguing enough to continue to work.
DB Snatch
30# 1 x 5 each side <–felt easy
35# 1 x 2 each side <–PR + 2.5 lbs. still felt pretty easy
40# 1 x 1 each side <–PR + 7.5 lbs. cleanly done, both sides but I was too tired to go for more
Chinups
1 x 5
feeling the effects of vacation eating, the second set was 1 x 0.
90 degree back raise thing
25# plate behind head 1 x 10
Then off to dinner which was warm spinach salad with bacon, then sliced pork tenderloin with a fig reduction sauce, mashed sweet potatoes and sliced roasted pears and onions. Delicious, but the scale this AM was not a pretty sight and I’m feeling the sluggy effects of too much rich restaurant food.
Great work on the Bench!
My experience with the wider grip is that it will feel a little awkward until it’s grooved in. Third rep looked good.
Has anyone picked out a dipping sauce yet (re: Joe’s thread)?
Congrats on the PR
Oh the amounnt of mashed sweet potatos I can put down.
Dammit. I want your arch. And your thick hair. Dammit.
Nice job on the DL rep PR. Coming along, for sure. And your bench looks good. You and I both know that bench will probably always be our nemesis because of our arm length.
And who’s hating on bread pudding? It’s been a while since I’ve had it, but it’s one of my faves.
again with the tasty food! I could say it probably helped you reach a few PR’s too but you won’t like that. lol 
Thanks, Jack!
DCA, I agree that grooving the new movement by way of practice is the only way to go. If I could pick my own dipping sauce, it would be spicy peanut sauce which I believe would be delicious on me.
Joe, mashed sweet potatoes aren’t my favorite…regular mashed potatoes, however, are a major weakness of mine.
Snapper, I’ll trade you some arch for some squat depth. The hair…sorry, babe. Mine all mine. Truth be told, the arch is as natural for me as your ATG squats. My back just does that, sort of on its own.
N., you know me too well. Yeah, I don’t want to hear that more food/being bigger is the golden path to PRs. That sets me up for two conflicting goals.
Today’s training was an hour and half urban ride around San Francisco. A few hills were involved. Then a crab had to die in order to feed me dinner.
nice - I always thought riding around SF would be fun - if weren’t for all those pesky cars. Did you eat down on the wharf?
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
Then a crab had to die in order to feed me dinner.[/quote]
poor crabbie. with my raclette tonight a whole slew of animals will die in order to feed us. Kinda sounds like a horror movie. How fitting.
George, we ate standing up at one of the crab stands at Fisherman’s Wharf – the only way to go!
N., now I’m jealous. I love raclette.
Just one crab? You must be a member of PETA.
Jack, this wasn’t our only trip to the crab stands.
Today’s training was a good vacation outing. I’m well rested, well fed and not stressed. This is a recipe for goodness.
5/3/1 - Wave 11, Week 3 - Bench Day and Squat Rehab
Squat Rehab
Bar 1 x 5
75# 1 x 5
85# 1 x 5 <–felt hard and heavy
90# 1 x 5 <–not as hard, this always happens
95# 1 x 5 <–some knee movement on reps 4 & 5
100# 3 x 3 <–struggled mightily to keep knees out
1 x 3 <–struggled with knees out and lost it on last rep
There is some progress here. I got more reps in at 100 lbs. while successfully keeping my knees out and my quads out of the mix. I feel my glutes and hammies working hard when I refuse to knee-cave.
Bench Press
Bar 1 x 5
60# 1 x 3 <–working
70# 1 x 3 <–working
80# 1 x 7 ← money set, Rep PR +2
I was working with a slightly wider grip, with pinkies about a finger’s width from the rings. I tried to remember to tuck my elbows.
This less-wide grip felt more comfortable than the pinkies-on-rings grip of last session.
Decline Bench
Bar 1 x 5
75# 2 x 5 <–this was challenging
Dips
BW +25 lbs. 1 x 5 Rep PR +2, 1 x 2
Sadly, vacation is ending tomorrow. But it was sure fun while it lasted.
you notice how you almost lost that rep when the bar traveled to far towards your feet? I found that that was one thing that never happens if you try to keep your elbows as close to your body as possible. I also find that this allows me to really grip the bar and get the feel of attempting to bend it in a curve up and towards my head increasing my overall upperbody tightness. (if that makes any sense at all!)
sorry vacation is over - kudos to you for keeping up with the training!