Working hard on my starting physique. I think I’ve settled into a routine finally.
Warm-Up
Couple stretches from PT focusing on hip flexors, low back, and adductors.
Conditioning
Ethos sled +180 lbs
Pull 25m
Push 25m
3 rounds, then
Sled + 135 lbs
Pull 25m
Push 25m I usually do 5 rounds of each but planned to cut it to 4, so I had the bright idea to add weight. It was a great workout but not exactly what I needed to get ready for some jumps and deadlift.
24" Box Jump
x 10 Power Skips
x 10 ea leg The goal is to sprinkle in 30 jumps at the start of each session to get 120 per week. Decided to ease into it since I kind of had Jell-O legs from the sled.
Deadlift
225 x 5
255 x 4
285 x 3
315 x 2
350 x 2
RDL
185 x 10
205 x 10
225 x 10 The stretching for PT and being incredibly warmed up made it so the plates touched the ground on each rep. Back felt fine so I just went with it.
Waiter Walk Lunges
Two sets of 10 steps each leg:
25 lb KB x 10 steps left arm + 10 steps right arm
Leg Press Machine
25 total reps rest/pause with 360 lbs (+10 lbs from last time) Awful. I made it to 14 before the R/P started. Was able to do a double to 16 and then it was singles to the finish.
Great workout but I left feeling nauseous and burping up mouthfuls of stomach acid mixed with water.
Think you’ve identified this several times over the years, no better time than now.
From someone who gave up 13 years ago, I’d thoroughly recommend it, it’s hard for a few months and you get the occasional event that makes you wish you could, but really it’s definitely worth it in the long run, like you said I can’t think of any legit pros for alcohol.
Today is the day I start. My wife is on board and is going to start running again. She used to run marathons and even crushed a 50k, but that all stopped when she got pregnant with our third kiddo. Well, the kiddo is 4 now and my wife has run only a handful of times since her birth. I’m weak and pathetic and my success will definitely be impacted by her success or failure. We started Dry January a few days late because we’re both teachers. A good procrastinator would say “Why start something new on a Thursday (Jan 1) when you can wait til Monday?”
Warm-Up
PT Stretches
Sled
Tank M4 Level 3 Resistance
Push 25m / Pull 25m x 5 each
Time: 10:20 I’ve been using the Rogue sled with 135 lbs added and it’s been whooping me lately. This was much easier even though my legs are trashed from playing basketball a couple days ago. My pull times are usually 32 or 33 seconds and my first pull on this was 40 seconds! My knees hurt, but that’s exactly why I need to do this exercise.
Deadlift
225 x 5
255 x 4
285 x 3
325 x 2
355 x 2
Squat
215 x 5 x 3 sets (kind of like a 3x5 supplemental set from 5/3/1)
Lying Leg Curl
140 x 10
150 x 8
140 x 10
Seated Calf Raise
115 x 15, 12
Saturday (Jan 3rd) was the first time I played basketball in months and I played way too much. I got invited to play with a group who rents a rec center for 2 hours. We had 11 guys and each game was played to 11 by 1’s and 2’s. I think I played four games, sat one, then played another full game and one to 7. In terms of pain, I felt okay while playing but my knees have been very cranky since. Today is the first day I walked down the stairs without thinking I was going to go head first due to my leg giving out. I’ve been incredibly sore as well. My back hated me last night after deads. But this is part of my process. My back gets a little better and I push it to see where we’re at and then adjust. I’m playing basketball again this Saturday but plan to sit out more. That will be easy if we have more guys so I guess I better cross my fingers that we at least have one sub. I was afraid to sit initially because I tend to get cold and stiff quickly, but I actually felt much better after a game on the bench.
Well, this day sucked (it’s currently 1.9.26). Our sweet pug/beagle mix was 17+ years old. She’s been struggling to get around the house (especially stairs) and she kind of poops whenever and wherever. It just falls out as she’s walking. She also pees in the house if the need strikes. We have hardwood floors and it will drip through to the basement. It’s gross. We’ve been wondering if and when it’s time to put her down because that’s what it is - killing her for our convenience. And I couldn’t do that. I’d been waiting for a reason. On this day my kids found her lying in her own poop and pee and unable to move. She’d had a seizure. She was awake and seemed alert, but unable to move. I decided it was time to let her go so we took her to the vet and had them euthanize her, but I’m full of guilt.
The vet mentioned various causes of a seizure and possible health issues. We didn’t really want to spend a bunch of money to diagnose something we couldn’t/wouldn’t treat. The one thing that’s haunting me is that she said the tonic state she was in from the seizure can go away. It could be hours or days. I didn’t really latch onto that until afterwards. Did I kill her without giving her a chance? Should I have waited? I hate this. We brought her home from the humane society in July of 2009. She was older than our kids. I can’t stop thinking about her final moments. My wife and I were there petting her - she looked scared because she couldn’t move, but we were there. I hope I did the right thing, but I don’t feel like it.
Hang Power Clean
185 x 2
205 x 2 - felt terrible
205 x 2 - better
215 x 2 - still not finding the groove
225 x 2, 2 I did some deadlifts in class with the kids - 315 x 5 in one hour and 315, 345, and 405 for one in a later class. I think it took its toll on my back and cleans felt like garbage.
(looks around for 10 minutes for space and equipment amidst the New Year’s rush…)
Split Stance RDLs
135 x 10 ea x 2 sets Was trying to do RFESS but couldn’t find what I needed so just did these. Didn’t expect the gym to be a mad house on a Thursday night.
I was at the gym for over an hour but didn’t get much done due to the crowd.
(Today)
1.9.26
I’m going to attempt to dig a grave for my dog at home after work (3:20ish) and before I have to leave for my second job (5:15 dressed and ready). It rained yesterday so the ground will be soft - maybe a muddy a mess. I made her coffin last night. She’s still at the vet so I didn’t exactly have measurements, so I’m pretty sure I made it way too big meaning a bigger than necessary hole. Oh, well.
I’m having a harder time dealing with my dog than I do humans…
My 14.5 year old pug passed last year. She wasn’t quite to that level of incontinence, but still a mess. We went on a long trip while she stayed home with my in-laws, and when we came back she just quit eating. We came home one day and she was in her bed next to a pile of waste, having barely climbed away from it, and didn’t move again. She shivered, had seizures, and breathed hard with a glassy eyed look.
We carried her bed into our bed, and when my wife woke up in the middle of the night she discovered that the dog had stopped breathing at one point.
Whereas you struggle wondering if you euthanized your dog prematurely, my wife struggled with wondering if it would have been better to take her to the vet when we got home to see if there was anything they could do.
The truth is, no matter the outcome, what we did for these dogs was far less cruel than what nature would have done. Both of our dogs would have died much earlier if left to the elements, but, instead, they got to live our their final days surrounded by love and warmth. We, as humans, should be so lucky. There is no doubt that your dog knew you loved it, and knew that it was loved. The fact it was also rescued means it knew what it had come from and how good it’s life was. You acted out of love this entire time. No one is going to do the right thing 100% of the time, but someone acting out of love that missteps is far superior to someone who does the “right thing” out of pure cold calculation.
I had a similar situation in October with my cat. We had to have her put down and I was racked with guilt. The only thing I can tell you is this, a vet (generally speaking) won’t put down a pet without reason. Also, with the pain and guilt you feel, I highly doubt that you made the decision for selfish reasons. More often than not people will let a pet suffer and put them through horrible treatments so they don’t have to say goodbye. I have never had an animal put down that I didn’t question if it was the right choice. I’m sure you did the right thing for them.
Yup snap. My condolences, be at peace with your decision, you acted with no malice and tried your hardest to put the interests of your beloved dog first.
Putting down a dog is one of my most painful adult memories.
You did the right thing. She doesn’t have to suffer anymore and your family doesn’t have to watch her suffer. It was a tough decision, yes. But you had her best interest in mind and now she can rest. Sending you and your family hugs and prayers.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and condolences. I brought her home yesterday. Her name is Elaine - we named her after the Seinfeld character because we find it amusing when dogs have human names.
Everyone got to pet her one last time and say goodbye. We live in town but I chose to bury her in our yard. I know she’s not here, but it makes me feel better. That sweet girl just wanted to be near her humans. She’d follow us upstairs to sleep in the hallway next to our rooms at night and she’d lie on the living room floor when we were all watching TV. I figured she deserved to be near us.
Bench Test Day
Hit a solid 295 5 lbs less than June but I think I could’ve matched the 300 today; just didn’t push it. Time to go back to week 1 on the chart and run it back.
Leg Raise + Flutter Kick
10 + 15 x 2 sets
Close-Grip Pull-Down
210 x 10
220 x 8
230 x 7
240 x 5
Did about 55 jumps between sets of pull-downs.
Seated DB OHP
60 x 10, 10, 7
Took my son with me so things moved a bit slower than usual. We had been there well over an hour at this point so called it a day. Was supposed to do rows. I’ll be back for deads tomorrow so my back will get plenty of work then.
@TrainForPain I’ve completely forgotten how to tag my log. I can see that I have tags, but have no idea how to get to them. Can you help me out so I can remove that 2021 tag and add this year’s?
Sled
Tank M4 Sled on L3
Pull 25m/Push 25m x 5 each in 9:06
Deadlift
155 x 5
225 x 4
285 x 3
325 x 2
365 x 2 Decided to jump on the Step Progression Method with these today. I started on week 5 and goofed on the reps a bit. It was supposed to be 5, 5, 4, 2, 1.
Clean Pull from Rack
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 4
230 x 4
265 x 3 Add this to the list of Step Progression exercises. Started at week 1 with a max of 285.
RFESS
85 x 8 ea x 3 sets Uneven load - 60 lbs on working side and 25 lbs on the weak side.
Felt like a pretty solid workout at this point so I called it a day.
I’m all over the place with the Step Progression Program and I kind of like it. I just finished week 9 on bench. The next squat workout will also be week 9. I’ll be on the week 6 workout of OHP tomorrow. Deadlift is at week 5 and clean pulls are at week 1. It might just be a good way to space out the stress. The program already does a great job of helping you move up in weight without beating you up. I might even submit my cleans to this method…might
Hmmm…I can change the location like ‘Training Logs’ but no tags… I wonder if it’s because it’s a system generated log…? This one was automatically created when my first one reached the cap…
I’ll try to create a new one just to see if the option pops up…
No dice from the cell phone. Maybe this will make it stick…