Lava2007 Training Log

Training Training Logs
401

30 May 2018 - Squat Deload Bodyweight: ?
Low Bar Squat 275x2, 315x1, 355x1, 385x1, 405x1
RDL 3x15 135lbs
Biceps Superset: 2 rounds of 1x25 hammer curls 30lbs + 1x25 empty barbell curls (100 reps total)
Trap Bar Shrugs 1x40, 2x30 135lbs
Lateral Raises 1x20 20lbs, 2 min AMRAP 10lb DBs

Conditioning
5 yard snake on the football field which amounts to about 0.70 miles. It took about 6 minutes.

Notes
Pretty solid workout today. 405 felt a lot easier than I expected it to and it was the first time that it felt good in Chucks, so those are my new low bar shoes.

RDLs felt good too which was pretty awesome. I gradually worked on increasing my ROM throughout the sets as to not upset my back. I tried a few paused deadlifts with 135 also and those also felt good, so I’ll try to include paused deads in Dark Horse when I start it in a few weeks.

I went crazy with biceps today and it was pretty fun. I read some article on TN about doing 100 rep sets to bring up lagging body parts. I grabbed the 30lb DBs and they put me to shame. If I want to do 100 reps, I’ll have to use the 15s or 10s which would be embarrassing. But if it works, it works. I wanted to get 100 reps with the trap bar shrugs (which I must say are MUCH easier on the shoulders than barbell shrugs) but I only got 40. I had a pretty good trap pump and my biceps were destroyed, so it worked.

Looking to the future, I really have no idea what I will be doing for the giant sets and metcons during Dark Horse. I like the idea of doing bodyweight stuff because that makes me feel athletic. Pull ups, push ups, jumps, med ball throws, and jumping jacks will probably be my bread and butter for it. Maybe some reverse rows/prone pull ups.

My new boss (current neighbor) is giving me a tour of where I’ll be working starting next week in the morning. He told me I need to bring my bathing suit and sunscreen to work every day, which hopefully means that I’ll be nice and tan without even trying. I’m a camp counselor so I’ll probably be playing games with kids all day which will be great for burning a few extra calories and I won’t have to devote time outside of work to tanning!! Yay! I’ll be making ~$350/week from that and another ~$120 from my job on Saturdays which is almost as much as the rest of my friends. I’m really excited for this job. I get to wear athletic shorts every day which is fantastic sign. Anyways, tomorrow is purely a back workout with some sprints afterwards. Friday will be a bench day, and Saturday I might mess around with some deadlifts. I’ve got 6 more squat sessions and 6 more bench sessions before I get to start dark horse. I’m going to reevaluate and double check what my weak points are before I start it. Good night y’all. Looks like you boys are enjoying and benefitting from Dark Horse already which makes me happy for you. I can’t wait to join you guys!

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Glad to hear everything is good man.

The darkhorse. It’s early but I’m recovering faster from this program than I was with the basic barbell movements. I haven’t really figured out why. Maybe it is lower volume, or just the nolvity of movement now.

I struggle to come up with metcon ideas and giant set movements. I suggest you watch Brian’s videos and check out his web page. There are daily workouts with some ideas. Variety is the spice of life. I’ll be looking at your stuff to see what I can steal from your experience.

:joy:

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That’s what logs are for I suppose!! I’ll probably start with stuff similar to what you’re doing… lol

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31 May 2018 - Recovery Bodyweight: ?
Food, food, food. More food. And then some food.

3.14 mile bike ride with an average pace of 5:01 per mile

I was incredibly sore and tired all day today. I took a nap and I was still sore so I skipped the gym today. I got a crazy quad pump from riding my bike and that’s good, I just needed to get my heart rate up and some blood into my legs today. Tomorrow will probably be what I had planned for today which is some back work and a few sprints if my legs are up to it. I’m really trying to find a frequency that works for cardio. So far it’s been 3 days in a row and I’m wondering if maybe that’s why I was so sore and tired today. I’ll figure it out. It took a few months for me to start recognizing trends in my body so I’m guessing it’ll be a while before I know when to do cardio and how much of it to do.

405

2 June 2018 - Bench & Squat Bodyweight: 210.2 lbs
Bench Warmup:
+30 seconds arm circles each way (2 min total for both arms)
+OHP empty barbell 1x10
+PVC Pipe Mobility

Paused Bench 210x5, 235x3, 265x3
TnG Bench 5x10 185 lbs
Low Bar Squat 245x5, 285x5, 315x5, 5x10 265 lbs
Superset: GHR 3x10 bodyweight + Face Pulls 3x15 30lbs

Conditioning
1.6 mile walk

Notes
Alright. I fucked up. I forgot to change my numbers from last cycle, so today’s numbers were based on a 90% TM of a 310lb bench max and a 415lb squat max which was the same as last cycle. I’m gonna count it and run with it. @losthog mentioned something about switching up the order of the days which seemed pretty smart to me, so I did my bench 1+ today and my squat 5+ today. This week will be both 3+ sessions and after that will be squat 1+ and bench 5+, except those will be based off a 90% TM of a 425lb squat e1RM and 315lb bench e1RM. So 3+ will be 345x3+ for squats and 255x3+ for bench.

I’m proud of myself for being so good about my conditioning lately. I think it’s slowly starting to show, even though my diet has not been great lately. I saw a new tricep vein and a new bicep vein plus a nice edge on a quad muscle that I hadn’t seen before. Tomorrow will be a recovery day, most likely some jogging. If I feel good afterwards, I’ll sprint. The goal is 2 total miles on a track.

Today was a great day, exactly what I needed after a slight lull in my training. I got a lot of work done, and what made me feel even better about it is that my body weight was down to 210. The same scale that I weighed in at 216ish on Wednesday now has me at 210. No cramps or anything so I know I wasn’t dehydrated and I had a solid amount of water in me.

Paused bench seems easier to me than TnG bench now. Light weight feels lighter with TnG, but heavy weight feels lighter with a pause. I think I’m able to get better leg drive with a pause. I jumped 20lbs from 245 for 5x10 squats to 265 today and I was a little nervous. It felt good though. I was out of breath after every set and my legs were shaking a little bit, but doing the GHR balanced me out. Walking helped too. I feel pretty good right now. Doing cardio/extra leg work in the form of walking or running or biking definitely helps with my recovery. I’m glad it’s summer and I have all these options.

I was supposed to go to the gym with a girl tonight but she bailed on me. Typical of the female species. Thankfully I got my workout done in the morning before work because I knew that was going to happen lol. A brother can’t catch a break with the women sigh

Looking ahead, I’ll be in a good spot to begin some strength training after I’m done with BBB because of where my heavy sets will leave me off. My 5/3/1 sets will end at a 1+ of 275 for bench and 370 for squat, and I plan to AMRAP both of them since my session after those will be a deload. My rep records for both weights is 3 reps. I’d like to finish at 205 for 5x10 on bench and 275 for 5x10 on squats. If I can do that, I know I’ve gotten stronger in my higher rep ranges for both lifts (especially squats).

All in all, a pretty solid weekend so far. No training on Thursday or Friday (except a bike ride) left me very fresh. Long naps both days gave me the extra ZZZ I needed to recover. I think on Friday I napped for 5 hours after work (2-7pm) and then I was asleep by 1am which isn’t bad considering I usually can’t fall asleep early if I nap during the afternoon into the evening.

Like I said, active rest tomorrow. I grilled a lot of meat on Friday night so I’ll try to put down as close to 300g protein as possible. I start my new job on Monday and I’ll be working 8a-6p, but if I have energy afterwards I’ll lift. I’ll bring pre workout (caffeine free) to work in case I feel like hitting the gym. I should be on Dark Horse by the 4th of July–what better way to celebrate this beautiful country’s independence than with some gains!!! That being said, I may have to work on the 4th. I’m not sure yet. Who cares. Gains!!!

EDIT:
My goals for 2018 are still the same as they have been. Aim high. 455/335/500. I did a walkout with 445 on Wednesday and I could definitely control it on the way down but standing up with it wouldn’t happen. I’ll need to start doing some RDLs and trap bar deadlifts to keep my body familiar with lifting shit off the ground and hinging. As for bench, we’ll see. I’m praying that this hypertrophy gave me enough to at least get 325 or 330 which would be awesome. Benching almost 1.5x bodyweight is a big deal to me, as is squatting 2x bodyweight. Deadlifting 2.5x BW would be pretty sweet, but I think a 1.5x, 2x, and 2.5x will fall next year. I’ll either lean out and get it that way or I’ll blow up to 230 and make it happen that way. Regardless, I will win. I don’t care.

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Super good read. Glad to hear the lifts are going well. You seem healthy without issue. That is a plus. We have almost hit our goals for the year and it’s at the halfway point. We really won’t know for another 9 or so weeks, but it looks like the goals I set for the year are going down at the end of this darkhorse program.

Girls…don’t be so hard on them. At your age many of them just want to have fun and not be told what to do. They either love the idea of a committed relationship or anything but. I would just do what ever I was going to do and not worry about girls.

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Definitely. Some slight discomfort at the bottom of a heavy-ish squat but it’s fleeting and doesn’t stay throughout the entire rep, nor does it affect me once my lift session is over. Like I said, looking to work in some RDLs and stuff to get more comfortable in that position.

What are your personal goals and what are your son’s goals? 275 bench for you I know, and you already squatted 3 plates and deadlifted 4. That’s huge man, it really is. I’m scared of anyone over 35 who can move that kind of weight hahaha

This is one of the reasons I’m glad you’re in on my log man. Thank you. It’s true, some girls just don’t shut the fuck up about wanting a man to date, and other girls show no signs of regret or second guessing themselves after getting wine-drunk for the 80th weekend in a row. It’s an odd time to be in the market for a girlfriend, but you’re right. I just need to stick with what I was already planning on doing and not worry about that. God has a plan and it’ll happen or it won’t, the only thing I can do is make the most out of the body and resources that He’s given me.

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3 June 2018 - Active Rest Bodyweight: No idea
In this order, with band pull aparts dispersed throughout:
1.25 mile bike ride
Jog 1/2 mile, walk 1/2 mile
0:40 second side planks + front planks (2 rounds)
Lateral Band Walk from sideline to closest hash mark
1x50 yard sprint (ouch my quad)
One more round of planks
1.25 mile bike ride home
Hella lower body stretching

Food
So far, the notable items have been 50g protein shake, salad, 4 chicken drumsticks, 10oz steak, a cup of salad, baked beans, and broccoli.

Pretty good day of eating. Oh, and I’m also finishing off with some Reese’s Pieces ice cream right now. Pretty damn good. I’ll finish the night off with some magnesium citrate (helps with deeper sleep) and another 50g protein from a protein shake. Maybe some pork but we’ll see.

I wanted to do 3-5 50 yard sprints today but I tweaked my left quad just enough to scare me into not doing any more sprints. 20-25 people showed up at the football field just as I was about to start my sprints and they took half of the field to play a pickup soccer game. I was salty, but then I tweaked my quad so it didn’t matter.

I start my new job tomorrow and I’m pretty fucking nervous. My parents said the kids I’m a counselor for will love me and I think they will too, but I’m still just nervous. That’s just part of who I am, I get nervous about the dumbest shit. Class presentations, talking to girls, starting new jobs, meeting new people… it’s all scary to me. I thought being bigger than most other people would give me confidence but it doesn’t. Oh well. Turns out it’s still a lot of fun anyways!! I hope y’all had a solid weekend. I’m ready to start making some serious (for me) cash and train at night and then come home and pass out. Money and muscles are two things that motivate me very highly, so I think this summer will be a pretty good one.

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How did the new job go…

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5 June 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: IDK!! feeling strong though
Warmup: Arm circles & barbell OHP
Paused Bench 200x3, 225x3, 255x6
TnG Bench 3x10 185
Lat Pulldowns 3x10 140lbs, 2x10 120lbs (MAD PUMP YO)
DB Bench 2x10 80lbs
Face Pulls 4x15 30lbs
Cable Tricep Extensions 4x15 40lbs
Side Planks 2x30sec each side

Conditioning
Does playing with 24 5-10 year olds for 8 hours count? My legs say yes.

Notes
I felt strong today which is normal after 2 days of active rest. First day at the new gym today and it’s extremely cramped. I don’t think Dark Horse is going to happen here, but that’s okay. I’m going to be doing most of my sessions at the high school starting in two weeks, so I’m pretty much just using this gym to finish the last of my hypertrophy work.

Two things I like and two things I dislike about the new gym:
There are two squat racks in the back corners which is perfect. I love squatting in the corner squat racks because I’m weird. There were two cute girls which is cool. The things I don’t like are the benches (incredibly awkward) and everything is cramped together. The dumbbells are oddly shaped and the handles are weird.

I felt strong today. I think I could’ve gotten 8-9 reps of 255 if I had a spotter and a little lift off, but I’m not pushing it to the max yet. I wanna do a cycle or two of old-fashioned 5/3/1 before I start dark horse… I really miss going all-out on the amrap sets. I really do. Lol.

@losthog the new job is way better than I thought it would be. I get to work with two pretty cute girls who are counselors, and most of the kids like me. I feel like a dad to the 5 year olds and an older brother to the 9-11 year olds, it’s really cool. The only downside so far is that the kids like to play one game: dodgeball. and me, with my tight shoulders, can only throw at one speed and be accurate. I throw it very hard (not trying to brag but I have a cannon) and I’ve made 4 kids cry in two days. Headshots. Oops. To be fair, they cry about a lot of random shit because they’re young kids in a relatively unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. I made a new rule that from now on, when I dome someone, I’m just going to sit out the rest of the day. I wish we could play different games like basketball so I could just pass and occasionally shoot. In dodgeball I have one mode which is get people out… We played kickball on Monday morning and I popped the ball. It was funny. The kids are pretty nice for the most part but there are a few shit heads who are pretty annoying. They cheat in every game, don’t listen to me, and are mean to the other kids (hitting them, calling them names, etc). I need to figure out a way to law down the law without rattling them so much that they tell their parents.

All in all, a pretty decent lift at the new gym today. It’ll be my gym for the next two weeks and every weekend for the rest of the summer (until Aug 4). My back is feeling a lil better every week or so which is a good sign. I need to find a scale soon and see where I’m at. Tomorrow is squats after work, 275x3, 305x3, 345x3+. I’ll cap it at 7 if I’m feeling good. Then 5x10 265 and then some hamstring work and RDLs. I recovered realllly quickly from my bench on Saturday because I only did the 5x10 and 1+ sets so the volume was a lot lower. I feel like I’m one of the strongest people in this gym so I’m interested to see if I get any looks when I squat tomorrow. 345 isn’t an outrageous amount of weight but if nobody every squats that much then it will be apparent to me. I’ll look like a tool with my knee sleeves and belt, but hey… I’ll also be squatting more than almost everyone else there. So whatever.

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7 June 2018 - Squat
Low Bar Squats 275x3, 305x3, 345x4, 3x10 265lbs
Good Mornings 3x8 135lbs

Conditioning
The kids

Notes
Felt weak today. Weird because I haven’t squatted in 5 days so I should’ve been fresh. 345x4 isn’t awful but it isn’t where I was hoping to be. My legs are constantly tired from running around with the kids for 8 hours a day. I’m hoping that my squats will be back to normal once my shifts get reduced to 7 hours and I’m able to take a quick nap and get off my feet before my lift once I work 9-4 instead of 10-6.

I’ll just keep grinding for the next week until I’m on a better schedule. One more session of bench and squat before a new cycle and heavier weights. I’m excited for that.

Not much to talk about from today. I ran out of gas because I’m always on my feet and I went straight to the gym so I hit 3 sets for volume. I’d like to squat again on Sunday, but I’m working 12-6 so I’ll have to see where I can fit it in. Bench on Saturday probably with my 5+ at 240 I think. I’ll cap it at 8.

Also, I’m definitely not doing this job next summer. It may seem kind of early to decide that, but when my training suffers, I suffer. And as short-sighted as that may sound, that’s how things are. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty about how training “saved my life” or anything like that, but it is a huge part of my life right now and until I have a family I really can’t see lifting not being one of my top priorities. So yeah. I’m willing to sacrifice a little money for satisfactory workouts.

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I totally get training being a high priority. Keep grinding. The new life situation with the job could be affecting your numbers. No worries big dog keep going into the gym it will all add up!

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9 June 2018 - Bench
Paused Bench 185x5, 215x5, 240x8 (EASY MONEY BABY)
TnG Bench 5x10 185lbs (120 sec)
Close Grip Machine Rows 4x12 72.5lbs (45 sec)
OHP 95x10, 135x8, 155x4, 165x1
Lat Pulldown 3x10 140lbs (60 sec)
DB Bench 2x15 70lbs + 2x10 bicep curl 35lbs Superset
3x30sec side planks each side
2 or 3 sets of 15 leg raises

conditioning
None today. i’m happy to take a break from work and walking everywhere lol

Notes
Today was fucking amazing. I don’t know what it was, but it was awesome. I think I could’ve gotten 10-11 reps (MAYBE 12) at 240 which was a huge surprise, because my diet has been pretty shit all week in terms of overall calories. My choices until today (Grandma’s 88th birthday party) have been pretty healthy on average, but my total caloric intake has definitely suffered because of work. I’m still adjusting to the whole working 40+ hours a week thing. 40 this week, and 54 next week. Gonna be working Sunday through Saturday so I don’t know how much training I’ll be able to get in. Gonna be starting my last bench hypertrophy cycle after I do my 1+ for squats on Monday night.

Like I said, today was excellent. A lot of volume, a lot of food, and a few drinks with the fam. I got some awesome pumps today–chest, back, shoulders, and bi/tri. I figured out how to correctly utilize the benches at work so today’s bench session benefitted from that.

Smacked some side planks to stay healthy. My back is gradually getting better and better every day as long as I keep doing planks every other day. The plan for this week, tentatively, is this:

Sunday: Work and rest
Monday: Work and squat (1+)
Tuesday: Work and rest
Wednesday: Work and bench (1+)
Thursday: Work and rest
Friday: Work and squat (5+)
Saturday: Work and rest
Sunday: Bench and rest (3+)

Kinda adopting a one on-one off split here. I’m really glad I’m past the phase where I needed to lift every day. 2 days off in a row is almost like a treat for me now, because I know I’m going to kill my next workout. It’s only a matter of time before I get my schedule sorted out and I’m able to start getting a few hours off between work and lifting. That should definitely help me. I’ll probably get bored tomorrow night and make a finalized post of what I’m going to be doing for dark horse–one thing that I know for sure is that I’m going to use OHP as an assistance exercise and not a main movement. I’m only interested in the big 3 at the moment.

My laptop is almost dead and I can’t seem to find the charger, so I’ll get to your guys’ logs if I can tonight. If not tonight, then tomorrow. I hope you’re all in the middle of a fantastic weekend–keep grinding boys!!

@losthog thank you as always for your encouraging words. In a world where nobody I’m close to takes weight lifting seriously, I’m very glad I have you around. Thanks man :slight_smile:

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11 June 2018 - Squat Bodyweight: 217lbs
Low Bar Squat 285x5, 325x3, 365x3, 5x10 265lbs
GHR 2x10 bodyweight, 2x10 25lb plate

Conditioning
Played like 3 hours of basketball and a few hours of dodgeball today. If it gets me sweating, I consider it conditioning.

Notes
Felt good today. 365x3 with 1 or 2 RIR is pretty good for a 1+. One more cycle of squat and bench hypertrophy!!! The end is nigh!!! 335 for 5+, 350 for 3+, and 370 for 1+. 370x3 would tie a PR for me (although that’s when my hip flexor was at its worst back in February) which would be a great way to end hypertrophy.

The 5x10 was one of the biggest mental challenges I’ve faced in lifting in weeks if not months. Wow. Rep 5 on every set felt slow and bad, and I had to redouble my focus to make it through. It was hard mentally but physically I was fine. I’ll be sore tomorrow for sure, but today was a good day. I’m thinking my MRV is lower than 5x10 with a compound barbell movement… something to take into consideration in the future I suppose.

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12 June 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: 215lbs
TnG Bench 185x5, 215x5, 245x9 (tied PR), 2x10 195lbs, 1x10 185lbs, 4x5 185lbs
Close Grip Floor Press 3x20 110lbs
Overhead Cable Press 4x15 50lbs
Prone Rear Delt Raises 1x10 20lbs, 2x10 15lbs
Tight DB Arm Circles 5x10 each way 10lb DBs

Conditioning
The children

Notes
Decided to go all out on this amrap set today and tied my old PR at 245lbs. Not awful. I think my volume sets suffered because of it though because I struggled with 195 and then dropped to 185 and struggled with that too. I had a great chest pump and decided to call it for chest movements after my 50 reps.

I tried a new exercise today. Arm circles with dumbbells. Amazing for traps. It got my shoulders pretty well too. I saw a shoulder vein for the first time today. A small one in my left shoulder. Does that mean my body fat % is going down?!?! That could be exciting.

Anyways, back work tomorrow. I think I’ll delve into some light deadlifts and RDLs to work on my form and tightness since it’s been so long since I’ve picked something up off the ground. I’m praying that deadlifts will go the same way as squats and only bother me a little bit during warm ups. Squatting heavy feels better than squatting light while warming up, which really makes no sense intuitively, but I’m okay with it that way. I’ll get up to 315 tomorrow and cap it there, maybe do like 3x5-10 depending on how it feels. I’m hopeful.

My schedule is pretty tight these days. Wake up, make lunch, go to work, get home at 6:15, go to the gym at 6:30, be home by 8. Relax from 9 to 11, then repeat. It’s not the worst possible summer schedule, although it’d be better if I had the whole weekend off. Being in college sucks during the summer. Being out of college probably makes the summer suck even more lol.

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that my neck is thin compared to the rest of my body. I’ve got big arms, a broad chest, my legs are a good size, but my back and neck are lacking. I think neck is mostly genetics, like calves, which is unfortunate. There’s not much you can do to make your neck bigger. I’ll keep searching for things to do but I don’t expect to find anything great.

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13 June 2018 - DEADLIFTS!!! Bodyweight: 216lbs
Conventional 225x5, 275x5, 315x5
Sumo 3x2 405
Squat Stance 405x2, 425x1, 445x1
RDL 315x8, 275x8

Conditioning
1.5 mile nature walk with the kids today

Notes
VICTORY. I deadlifted today with no pain!!! I had slight discomfort in my left glute after 445, but it went up easy. I decided to back off and do RDLs. They felt great and strong.

Possibly squatting tomorrow. We’ll see.

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Geez man if you keep making gains I’ll never catch you. :joy:

Nice work

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Hahaha! It’s very possible that you end up pulling 445+ at the end of dark horse which would put me way behind you! I’ve got about a week left of hypertrophy before I start back in on strength work. I think I’ll plan out my stuff for DH tomorrow.

I don’t reckon I’ll be pulling anything over 365 for a vast majority of my training sessions over the next 10-12 weeks though. Paused deads are the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I can’t see myself pulling major weight that way, but the nice thing about that is that my weakness is exposed now. Time to temper the weak link!

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I think this is very true Lava.

You could work on your traps, Snatch Grip High pulls for sets of about 8 should be good for hypertrophy. CT has an article about it.

Great lifting mate.

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I can’t wait to see how you attack this darkhorse program.

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