Mid day update, but if ya’ll recall my story about those amazing ribs I had on the weekend and how I tipped the pitmaster directly, that BBQ place came to my work today to operate a foodtruck, and I got HOOKED UP when I ordered some chicken sliders. Couldn’t even close the Styrofoam container: heaping piles of smoked chicken breast. I’m still gonna count that as meeting the famine intent, because it’s smoked, no sauce, and lean, but also a reminder of the benefit of being loyal and appreciative, especially with the people that serve you food.
I actually learned that lesson back in undergrad (which, somehow was over 20 years ago). I lived in the dorms all 4 years and was on a meal plan, primarily because I ate even MORE back then than I do now and I would go broke trying to feed myself. Aside from meeting the girl who would eventually be my wife and frequently sweet-talking her into buying me food at the local campus restaurant, I got real sweet with the ladies working the food stations in the campus commons, and eventually it got to the point that, if bacon was running low during breakfast, they’d put aside a separate plate for me for when I showed up, and they’d give me extra helpings of whatever I asked for. I came back to that school 8 years after I graduated and they still recognized me.
And hell, even when I meet a server for the first time, I do what I can to endear myself to them. I wrote about how I went to a luau on Saturday, and when I asked for a piece of shoyu chicken, the server originally grabbed a drumstick but then looked at me and said “Oh no:I’ll give you a BIG piece”. That happens to me when I go to Panda Express too.
…I honestly only meant to write that first paragraph, but this became too fun, and maybe I’ll make it a blogpost one day, but the REAL reason I wanted to post was the say that I find myself getting excited at the idea of running DoggCrapp again, which is a pretty sure sign I should do it. These days, that seems to be my primary motivator to do anything: does it excite me? I’ve paid my dues more than enough times swallowing bitter medicine: I get to “play the game the way I want to play it” now. Which also means I don’t need to PROVE that DC works by being a zealot: I can modify as I feel fit.
I’ll need to re-educate myself on the weighted stretches. I know a few places I can look, but I’ll tag @davemccright to see if you have any resources there that you found ideal.
But one of the things I really dig about DC is the A/B/C/D/E/F/A/B/C/D/E/F style approach to the workouts, which is to say, an A and a B workout that ALSO alternates movements. For one: variety galore. But what I really dig is how it’s practically like a sodoku puzzle trying to make it all work together. Primarily because I’m going to already be committing a DC sin by running the program out of a garage gym vs a gym with machines and a lot of equipment. I DO have access to that sort of gym through my work, but I just can’t stand those environments, and I feel like I do have enough bizarre toys to be able to still make this viable.
I went through the article here to re-aquatint myself, copied down the split, and listed some of the more unique things I have access to in order to increase my exercise selection.
WORKOUT A
- Chest (swiss bar, dips, barbell vs axle, slingshot)
- Shoulders (trap bar press, BtN press, KB press, Viking press, swiss bar, close grip incline)
- Triceps (swiss bar, dips, slingshot)
- Back width (pulldowns, various chin hand placement)
- Back thickness (Viking row handle, mat pulls, Kroc rows)
WORKOUT B
- Biceps (Grenade balls)
- Neck/Traps (shrugs against bands, kelso shrugs, neck harness,
- Calves (barbell, SSB, dip belt, seated axle)
- Hamstrings (GHR, SLDL with axle vs barbell vs trap bar, reverse hyper, good mornings)
- Quad (belt squat, SSB front squat, trap bar)
This isn’t all inclusive, which is what’s awesome, nor does it include the mundane stuff (barbells and dumbbells). And then, alongside all this, I can always add bands, chains or bands AND chains to things, and bands can be reverse band, and the world is my oyster.
You’ll noted I cut out forearm training and put in neck/traps instead. Because I don’t care about training my forearms, but I WILL do some grip training somewhere along the line. I also intend to keep up my ab wheel work each workout, and integrate band pull aparts, reverse hypers and lateral raises. I also intend to still keep my weekend ROM progression 5 minute deadlift workout, because that’s just been magic.
The big part of the puzzle here is going to be setting up the garage so I can quickly execute each day without spending so much time with logistics. Again: I enjoy having to solve that puzzle. For day A, it’s going to be about setting up only ONE lift inside the rack, do, for example, dips for chest, trap bar press for shoulders and close grip bench for triceps. OR incline bench-behind the neck press-dip. Something like that.
I’ll also have to decide if I want to do a bunch of different DL variations for back width, or count on that weekly ROM progression pull to satisfy that and just focus on rows.
I’ll keep nugging on it, but so far I’m enjoying this.