I think this is a good course J.
You and the missus are good people. Not stupid people.
When you interview her, you can judge her personality better than most, due to your line of duty.
Is there a possibility that the state can pay you, and get a line in the contract that the state pays for what is wrecked when they at some point leave.
But there’s always a risc, but I guess that goes for most peeps when you’re a landlord.
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Training
Well, it appears I’m back to just doing upper body bro splits.
LIMBER 11 WARM UP
PULL UPS (goal: 5 x 5 w/ 30 sec rest)
5
5
5 neutral grip
3 neutral grip (shoulder popped) + 2 regular
3-1-1 regular
CABLE ROW (1.5 reps)
140 x 12
140 x 10 + 10 bottom half reps
SHIRLEY ROW
100 x 15
120 x 15
140 x 10
SA CABLE UPRIGHT ROW
40 x 15
40 x 12
20 x 15 1.5 reps
LATERAL CABLE CURL (SA)
50 x 10F/6T/6B
30 x 10F/10T/10B
Note to self: don’t do these again with the right arm. No pain during the set but it felt like my biceps tendon was out of the groove and stuck after that final set.
YTWL RAISES
5s x 10 ea
2.5’s x 10 ea
I hit the 48 minute mark after the YTWL Raises and called it a day. How much volume do I need? I’ll just be alternating between upper body push and upper body pull workouts for the next month or so.
My MRI is done. My brother works at the facility where I had it done and he might have a chance to bug a doc to look at it today. My follow up is next Tuesday. I don’t recall the last MRI hurting like this one (the arthrogram part). My hip and upper leg is numb and achy. Oh, well. The weather is crap today so I’m just going to chill in the recliner and watch season two of The Punisher while my son naps (not like I’d be doing anything on a nice day either lol).
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I actually think it makes good business sense, her income is from the state and she has to provide a safe home or won’t get that income. That’s about as much of a guarantee as you can get. As long as she passes the screening then it sounds like it has longevity and is sound to me.
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1.23.19
Woke at 234.6 lbs. That makes me happy because yesterday wasn’t a good day. I didn’t eat a lot but it was calorie dense and full of salt. I also had three beers.
Upper body push workout today. It’s strange not doing conditioning or leg work. I want to do leg extensions or leg curls or just walk to burn calories but I guess that wouldn’t fit the definition of complete rest.
@losthog, the Shirley Row is taking care of my lack of deadlift work. Thanks for sharing!
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Upper Push Workout
LIMBER 11 WARM UP
MACHINE SHOULDER PRESS
65 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10F/10T/10B
Good weight selection here. The bottom half reps were basically 10 failed reps where I pushed as high as I could and just hoped I hit the halfway point.
superset with
MACHINE CRUNCH
110 x 15
125 x 15
125 x 10F/10T/10B
MACHINE BENCH
130 x 10
130 x 10
130 x 10F/10T/10B
Again, great weight selection. The first two sets were actually solid working sets. I just really pushed the partials after hitting 10 full reps on round three.
superset with
SIDE CRUNCH (on the 45* back ext)
BW x 15 ea x 2 sets
INCLINE BENCH (1.5 reps)
95 x 10 x 2 sets
Time to increase the weight. The goal last week was 3 x 10 and I hit it. I decided to stick with 95 lbs this week since I’d already done some burnout sets of OHP and machine bench.
INCLINE REV DB FLY
12.5’s x 12 x 3 sets
CABLE KICKBACK
40 ea x 10 x 2 sets
40 ea x 20 w/ a couple pauses
superset with
HANGING KNEE RAISE
2 x 15
Great session. Took about 40 minutes and then I helped staff move the new dual half rack and platforms a bit. I told them everything was too close together after the first day that I saw the new stuff. People were squatting and deadlifting and the bars were so close together that you couldn’t get to the weights on the half rack. It was dangerous. I saw one of the trainers unload the rack and pull the wooden platforms out so I knew they were finally fixing it. I felt compelled to help out since I was one of the people griping about it.
A lot of people complain about things in life. I’m one of them. However, I also try to offer up a solution or help complete the work to fix the problem. I think if you’re going to be part of the solution then it kind of gives you the right to gripe about the problem.
Moving the platforms and putting the plates back on the half rack was probably the hardest part of my workout. We put eight 55 lb plates on each side. Those Rogue competition plates are actually tough to grab so I was just squeezing two at a time. It wasn’t terribly hard but it did cause my biceps tendon to pop out of the groove just about every time. Oh, well.
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Brians program is proving to be pretty effective but that workout looks way more attractive than anything I’ve been doing lately haha.
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I guess now that I “can’t” run or train legs I can enjoy these bro workouts guilt free. I like these sessions but my brain thinks I should be doing more.
I need to run. I need to do this or that. You know how it is in the training world.
I want to play basketball. Hell, just this morning I was thinking that shooting baskets would be a great warm up for lifting. Well, that’s out.
I’m trying to avoid negativity (or at least writing it down and sharing it) but I’m a pessimistic realist. And I typically expect the worst and it results in one of two things:
- I’m right (and who doesn’t enjoy being right?)
- I’m wrong and pleasantly surprised
Sorry for the tangent, but the point I’m trying to make is that I don’t think I’ll play basketball again until 2020. The same goes for squats and deadlifts. Even if I have surgery, I’m wondering why I should push it. Apparently I did something too soon after the first surgery which is why I’m here, again.
So, for the rest of 2019, I’ll probably be best served by these bro style sessions. When I start conditioning work again then I’ll use the elliptical and bike. My lowest resting HR of 2018 was during my recovery when I was doing a lot of elliptical work. It apparently works well for health.
And, here we are again on another detour in the mind of JMaier. 
Sorry, bud. Guess you caught me at a time when my wheels are turning.
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Hey man it’s your log, let the stream of consciousness flow haha.
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I’m still a few (possibly several) years younger than you and I’m already looking forward to dialing back a bit. It has been a fun run being the “big” (relatively) guy out of my friends, and being stronger than the average gym rat, but I’m ready to start thinking about training for health and longevity (I guess this should have gone in the Flame Free thread…). I’m not saying I’ll be using the pink dumbbells or anything, but my training will be a bit more like your training with some sports you enjoy, or @kleinhound with his running and other random shit he gets into, or @mr.v3lv3t and his rock climbing, etcetcetc.
I think it will be tough for me to accept getting smaller and weaker, but I’m going to have to look at it from the point of view that I’m getting better at running, or learning some new skills like handstands or some of the olympic lifts. Or hell, maybe just accept the fact that I’m not 20 years old, and I’m over the fucking hill! I’m not going to lie, I can see a lot of my training being heavily influenced by Crossfit after I reach a powerlifting goal or two. Currently a 700lb deadlift is at the top of my priorities.
There, I met your tangent with one of my own!
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It’s funny you mention being the big guy in the group. When I play basketball I’m usually the strongest guy on the court. People foul me and I can still finish the shot and score. I can jump higher than most and I’m quick off the floor.
The funny thing is that I don’t notice these things until someone says something about it. I still think I need to get stronger. I could jump higher (I miss my vertical from when I was 22). I could be bigger.
When you mentioned doing more athletic things and backing off on the strength pursuits it kind of made me realize that I have everything I need to do what I enjoy doing which is playing basketball.
Losing weight increases my vertical. Increasing my strength isn’t going to make me better. If I’m already strong enough to go through people then do I need to be stronger?
I’m also pretty good at rec league softball. I have the power to go deep (just need to figure out the swing for consistency). I’m good in the field - I have a good glove and better speed than most adults. And I can drink a lot of Coors Light.
So that brings up the question - why do I continue to pursue things in the weight room? I’ve said that I want to look like The Rock but I don’t think his physique is ideal for the things I enjoy.
I don’t know what’s wrong with my brain. I think I just need to play more sports and spend less time in the weight room.
It definitely won’t hurt my hip to lose some weight.
And then I see people like Zion Williamson who are taller and heavier and can jump higher than me. They defy physics.
Thank you, sleeper, for the tangent. It’s very welcome here and seeing a beast like you talking about training for more athleticism helps my perspective.
I’ll never be able to run like @kleinhound though.
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You’re too kind, but I’m not that good at running lol.
“I can drink a lot of Coors light”
My man 
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I think this is worth repeating.
I’ll cheers to that! 
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Cheers J
Playing sports and being athletic is good stuff and something to chase.
The hard part could be going to the weight room and not chase number.
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1.24.19
Woke at 233.6 lbs. I ate like crap today so I’m sure I’ll be back at 235+ tomorrow.
I had training today so I was off the streets. No workout. I’m about to head to a basketball game for my part time work.
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1.25.19
Woke at 233.8 lbs which is a huge win after yesterday’s nutritional choices. I had a salad for dinner to try to salvage the day and it looks like it worked.
I’m hoping to go to the gym tonight for a back session.
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Training
ABBREVIATED LIMBER 11 WARM UP
FULL V-UPS
2 x 12
J ROPE PULL
130 x 10
150 x 10
150 x 15 (1.5 reps)
DB ROW
100 x 8 ea (Nope. Not happening with the right arm.)
60 x 10 (1.5 reps)
60 x 10F/10T/10B (Right arm is definitely struggling. Had to break up my reps on the right side.)
REV CABLE FLY (21s F/T/B)
30 x 8/8/8
30 x 6/3/6
20 x 8/6/8
SA CABLE CURL (L arm only)
50 x 15
drop set
50/40/30/20/10
x 8/5/5/10a/10a
a = assisted
Weak session but I challenged some muscles. This took less than 30 minutes. Workouts don’t last long when you don’t do compound movements, legs, or conditioning.
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1.26.19
Woke at 233.2 lbs. That’s the lightest I’ve been since I passed this weight during my fat year of 2018.
I’m not sure if I’ll go to lunch today or go workout.
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Can’t you do both. Good work dropping the weight.
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1.27.19
I forgot to weigh myself this morning, but I was 235.8 lbs after I got dressed for work (socks, shirt, work pants, and belt). I guess that’s better than being 235.8 with nothing but my shorts.
I watched a little bit of boxing last night and saw a 36 year old guy who was 6’6" and weighed in at 243 lbs for his fight. He looked great. Wait a minute… his stats were very close to mine. Does that mean that I actually look good at 6’4" and 220ish? No way!
I’ve decided that I’m headed back to my “before” photo for the 2018 T-ransformation Challenge. I posted the pics along with this year’s “before” photo but here’s a reminder.
From what I can tell, the heavier version of me isn’t exactly better. It’s bigger, but less defined, so what’s the tradeoff? What’s the benefit. I can think of a few reasons to be lighter:
- I’ll jump higher in basketball (same force, less mass to move)
- My hip will thank me
- I’ll be pretty lean and defined
- My old clothes will fit again (including my tailored suits)
Cons
- I won’t look like The Rock
- I’ll still struggle with wanting to be bigger and look like @littlesleeper
- I might not squat 405 or pull 600 lbs (but I should probably reconsider those goals with my dodgy hip)
So, there you have it. I should probably bookmark this post as a reminder in case I get distracted again. 2018 was a good year. I achieved some good things. In June, when I finished SGSS, I was the strongest I’d ever been in my life. It was great.
I think I can achieve a 500+ deadlift and 300+ bench if I desire, but I’m not sure about squatting. I might not squat again at all. What’s the point? I didn’t squat in my early lifting days and I still developed a good physique and had great performance on the court. I had some bounce in the gym when I was 19 and all we did for leg training for the baseball team was leg press, leg curls, and leg extensions. Occasionally, we’d throw in partial squats (put the safety bars 2 or 3 holes below the rack position and only do the lockout). I fear that leg press is too much hip flexion but it might be an option for high rep stuff. My heaviest leg press workout in college was 500 lbs. We’d load it up and do 3 deep reps, 20 top half reps, 3 deep reps, 20 top half reps, and 3 more deep reps. It burned. Coach was a big fan or partials but now that I’ve seen the research on how partial squats can improve sprint times and verticals I guess he was right.
If I can deadlift and power clean then I will do those lifts until I die. But squats and bench can suck it.
It’s almost 0900 hours and there hasn’t been a single call for anyone in my Bureau today (knock on wood). I think I’m going to head to the gym.
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I think this is a good plan man! Have something you can get better at, feel better with, and enjoy for the long term!
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