I’m curious J, you do any sort of static stretching?
Not really. Occasionally, I’ll sit down and stretch my adductors and hamstrings together but it’s rare. I just move through a full range of motion with my legs during my warm up. I don’t really stretch my upperbody much either. I should, but I forget.
ELLIPTICAL
32 min, 3.33 miles, 442 calories, 2:1 interval, L7/i7:L14/i14
Followed that up with a little bit of PT including push ups. I achieved pec DOMS, after all!
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Rippetoe would disapprove
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I’ve taken to wearing my Rehband soft belt for the majority of my training sessions now and my back feels significantly better than it has in quite a while. If you’re in the market for new toys, might be something to consider. Especially pairs well when worn under a power belt, but even without one, it keeps the back warm.
When worn with the blue shorts, the whole lower body stays pretty toasty. I’m honestly a helmet away from a neoprene suit of armor at this point.
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It’s good to hear someone stronger than me also uses toys to stay warm and keep the joints happy.
I felt foolish a couple weeks ago because I wore my knee sleeves while squatting less than my body weight.
I’m torn between the following:
- training without belts and sleeves to make sure the right muscles are working
- using belts and sleeves because they feel good and reduce my risk of injury
Belts and sleeves really shouldn’t have any role here. My knee sleeves go on before my first warm-up set and stay on the whole workout. This includes on upper body training days. The only exception is deadlift worksets, because they snag on the bar and can impact my pull. Warm knees are happy knees.
On belts, I’d actually say using them INCREASES chance of injury rather than reduces (assuming we’re talking a powerlifting belt) simply because it allows you to lift more weight by increasing your ability to brace. However, a soft belt will just keep your back warm. Minimal support.
But in both cases, you should still be using the right muscles. And hell, if you use the “wrong ones”, maybe that means those muscles need to work more anyway.
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I’m more worried about not using any at all and suffering yet another injury 
Leg Day
SQUAT
235 x 3 x 5 sets
The first time I used this progression, I was very conservative with my weights and never missed a rep. 245 felt too heavy for week 1 of 3 so I backed off to 235 so I can increase the weight the next two weeks. I also figured out that I’m stronger with a narrow stance.
DEADLIFT
275 x 3 x 5 sets
Light weight.
RFESS
100 x 5 ea x 5 sets
LYING LEG RAISE + REV CRUNCH
15, 12
I went to my wife’s school to help with her weight lifting class. They were maxing out so I pretty much just watched and gave some tips about form here and there. I know from working with kids at her school in the past that they can only handle a small amount of critique at a time. Unfortunately, they overload her classes and there are way too many kids for one person. They kind of get to do whatever they want and don’t get as much instruction as they could in a smaller class. They capped her classes at 35 students.
On the plus side, I pulled 395 and didn’t die. It definitely felt heavier than I would like but it was nice to lift something that caused me to strain. I’m hoping to get back to 500 by the end of the year.
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Hey J been away from your log for the best of 6 days, man then there’s a lot of catching up.
Great to read you got released, great to see you squat and deadlift again.
Use the stance that doesn’t hurt, is what I’d do.
Nice to see an almost 4 plate pull.
And I liked the post about lean vs hidden abs. I can definitely follow you here.
Just be careful with that shoulder, Ya hear
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I think I’ve reached the phase where I’m going to have to push it a bit. Some pain is okay. It’s also going to be necessary. I have a long road of pushing, feeling pain, pulling back and resting, and repeating.
I’ve been in pain all day today but it’s in my pec and trap. It’s like my body is in shock from training hard. It feels like an angry nerve.
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I would like to clarify something. There is a drop. It is a continuous drop beginning day of insertion. There are no spikes, except 48 hours after insertion. But your testosterone level decreases daily at a relatively fixed rate until you have another pellet insertion.
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10.10.19
And in typical fashion, summer turned straight to winter. Why do I live here?
I definitely screwed up my training week. I want to prioritize upper body so it was easy to start the week with upper training on Monday. I have more time to train Mon-Wed so I plan my longer workouts on those days. They’re also the harder workouts (five sets compared to three). Well, doing my bigger, harder leg day before I go back to work is dumb. I knew this, but I did it anyway. The last thing my body wants to do right now is sit in a car all day.
The obvious solution is to skip leg day this weekend and start on Monday. I’ll do my short upper body session tomorrow or Saturday and just skip the short leg session altogether. I actually think that’s why I started with upper body. I figured that if I had a bad week then I could skip a leg workout. Monday - upper, Wed - lower, Thurs/Fri - upper, and then repeat if I missed a session.
Work Update
Well, I received a phone call from a supervisor yesterday. He is the Lieutenant for 2nd Shift and the Community Policing unit at one of our four Bureaus. He is trying to get me added to his Community Policing team. This is the spot I’ve been trying to get for over two years. There are five openings throughout the city. I’m number one on the list so it seems like a no brainer that I’ll get a call; however, there are rumors that they don’t want to fill the unit due to staffing. Staffing will forever be a problem because government can’t figure out how to plan ahead. We’re always six months to a year behind when it comes to staffing.
Anyway, it’s sounding like I might snag the only spot they fill. They might leave one opening at each Bureau and things are shaping up to play out just like that. We start everything at the start of a new pay period. The next pay period starts Saturday October 19th. I might get the call before then or it could be two weeks after that (Nov 2nd). The sooner the better but all that really matters is that I get a call and get to move before this list expires in January. If that happens then I’ll have to go through the interview process again and hope no one beats me.
Just a reminder, this spot doesn’t respond to 911 calls like I do now. I would mostly be doing follow-up work and addressing crime trends. I enjoy that sort of thing much more than what I do now. And the best part is the schedule - I’ll keep my four day work week but get Sat, Sun, and Mon off instead of Mon, Tues, and Wed. 
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I’ll be crossing my fingers J, I really hope you’ll get it.
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Here’s hoping it works out
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Did you get snow too? Started this morning as freezing rain for us. Made for a fun morning of delivering papers.
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No snow. 70+ to 32 in 24 hrs. Wind chill will be 24 tonight.
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The Midwest is fun!
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This feels like a really positive move that can help you make an impact man. Awesome.
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Yep, been here most all my life. Not for lack of trying to escape though! Haha. Did you leave for work or college and never look back?